Through the Years
by Agent Reptile
Summary: My old Ranma, XMen, Gold Diggers, Darkstalkers Crossover, now edited with G.I.Joe, Tenchi Muyo, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Please read, enjoy, and review.
1. Chapter 1

Through the Years

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and anyother Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's

It was a mild Japanese spring with the cherry blossoms all in bloom. A young woman of no more than twenty years with bright red hair in a traditional bun was dressed in an elegant kimono sitting on a bench in a garden waiting to see the man she loved so much.

"No-chan are you alright?" A deep foreign male voice asked behind her.

"Logan-kun you came!" she yelled wrapping her arms around the Canadian mutant's neck and crying into his chest.

"Hey I gave my word didn't I? And a man is only as good as that."

"Oh Logan-kun you have no idea how happy this makes me feel." Nodoka said as the mutant wiped her eyes with his thumb.

"Darlin I've been wait'n all day to see you. So what has your father said about us?"

"He..he does not see the world as we do my love. He still sees you as inferior, unworthy of my hand. That bastard will have me marry that reached Genma instead of you."

"WHAT? No-chan look you can come with me back to New York, make a life together away from here."

"If it were that easy I would have. But you know I can not. My family duty must be upheld, it is something I can not turn my back on."

"Look I'll do whatever it takes to make him change his mind No-chan. You know I can be very persuasive." Logan said exposing his claws.

"And give him grounds to say that you are only an animal? A dirty foreigner with no dignity? I could never ask you to do that. Never let him gain that little satisfaction." The woman says angrily.

"What is it with him? Your brother Noboyuke can marry a woman who's father is an alien from a world George Lucas might as well have created and yet we..."

"You know that my father is a hypocrite Logan there is nothing we can do to change that man's mind. Even my father-in-law respects you as a man who upholds the true meaning and understanding of honor, my own father is blind to it." Nodoka cries.

"So No-chan is this the end of us?"

"I am sorry my love, it may very well be. But no matter what the cost there is something you can give me which will always remind me of the man I love."

"Darl'n whatever it is I'll give it to you, cost be damned."

"Logan-kun you are a true romantic. What I wish for is something only you can give me. Something which is as much a part of you as it is mine."

"Name it and it is yours."

"Your child my love. I want you to be my first time, my very special time and give me your child."

"No-chan what if Genma discovers on your wedding night?"

"He is as much a fool as my father and just as much a coward. Why do you think they would deign me you? As much as I detest that lard ass I will as his wife be dutiful, but my first time, and my first born will not be his. I will never give life to that man's spawn!" Nodoka cries so vehemently that she would seem as if trying to outdo Paul Muad'Dib Atreides out of Frank Herbert's Dune.

"But why tell me now?"

"It is my time Logan-kun. If we make love on this day I know we will make a child from love. A child who I will raise in memory of you to hold honor, devotion, courage, and all the things which our love would personify in our child. Please beloved do not deign me this one request."

"No-chan, come Hell or High water I will never deny your request." Nodoka bursts into tears of joy as she nestles her head in Logan's muscular chest.

"You know if I didn't know better I would swear this was based of a Roman tragedy." Logan thought to himself.

Approximately nine months later in the Nemeria general hospital the same young red head as before was suffering through labor to give life to her beloved son. Like she had thought Genma was an idiot who only saw the pregnancy as a perpetuation of his art, and was so drunk on his wedding night that he couldn't even get an erection.

"Damn bastard why didn't he die of alcohol poisoning." Nodoka Saotome said quietly through gritted teeth as another contraction hit.

Where was Genma during this by the way? He was plastered back at Nodoka's house after hearing his wife was going to give birth to his son, didn't even drive her to the damn hospital before passing out. It was good fortune that Nodoka's brother and sister-in-law were visiting expecting their own son that they were able to get Nodoka there in time. Regardless of being a pervert Noboyuke was an older brother and like all older brother's should he looked after his sister.

"Just once more Nodoka and your son will be born." The doctor said.

"AAAAAA!" Nodoka cried and soon..

"WAAAAAH!" was joined by her son.

"There you are Mrs. Saotome. A very healthy baby boy with a very good set of lungs." The Doctor cut the cord and handed the child to his mother.

"My son. My handsome, adorable son." Nodoka cried as she held him close to her chest and he calmed down a little.

"Well I'll let you two get to know each other, tell me when you feel up to seeing visitors cause your brother and sister-in-law are anxious to see their nephew."

"I will doctor, please give my a few moments alone."

"Of course. Call if you need anything dear." the man and nurse staff left with the new mother and child dearly holding each other.

"My son my precious son. I will honor my word and you will be a man among men." Nodoka cried happily. The she reached for her son's hands and felt three small sharp points just slightly above her baby's small knuckles.

"There is no deigning it is there huh? You are my Logan-kun's son. Now what name shall I call you. Genma has that tradition of being named after horses, so how about Ranma: Wild Horse after your real father with a spirit that can't be broken."

The little boy giggled happily at this smiling up into his loving mother's eyes.

"Hey Nodoka, not to barge in but can we see our nephew now? Um if you're up to it?"

"Come in brother. Say hello to Ranma your special new nephew." Nodoka said letting her arms drip slightly to give the two guests a better view.

"Oh he is so hansom Nodoka, and so cute. How is it that Genma helped make him?" Achika Masaki said jokingly.

"He didn't." Nodoka said sharply.

"But then...Are those claws on his hands?" Noboyuke asked.

"Yes, those are claws beautiful blades like his father has." Nodoka says with overwhelming pride.

"Nodoka, this child's father is Logan? Damn you go girl." Achika said cheering as best she could with a six-month tummy in the way, for some odd reason Tenchi was kicking at that moment like he agreed.

"Ah Nodoka why did you...I mean Genma is your husband and..."

"And what? Only you get to have the comfort of the one you fell in love with?"

"I'm not saying that Nodoka!" her brother said sweat dropping and backing off as best he could. "I would have loved Logan to be your husband believe me, its just that Genma will find out eventually won't he?"

"Brother my husband only has one field of expertise, martial arts, and the reasoning skills of a brain-dead howler monkey. He will never find out." Nodoka responds defiantly as if she was a one-woman legend of Greek Phalanx under Alexander the Great.

"And we will never tell, right dear?" Achika says smiling as she wraps her arm around her husband.

"Not a word dear. Don't worry Nodoka we will take this secret to the grave if we need to."

"Brother, even if you are a pervert, you are a bigger man than father ever will be."

"Hey sis what are brothers for after all?"

"I knew there was a reason I feel in love with you Noboyuke." Achika says kissing his cheek.

"Excuse me, but may I come in?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, please do come in. Is there something wrong doctor?"

"Well, with your son he's as healthy as a horse, no pun intended on your husband's name, but after looking over the ultrasounds and such, I'm sorry to say that well, I don't know if everyone should be here when I say this.."

"Doctor please we are all ears, there is nothing we can not deal with together." Nodoka responds.

"Very well." The Doctor sighs. "Mrs. Saotome, your uterus received immense damage from the birth process. Tearing and such which could not be helped with and was completely unforeseen."

"Please Doctor get to the point." Nodoka said in dread of what lay in store for her future.

"In short, you can never have another child again. I am sorry to say but your son will never have a baby brother or sister to play with from you."

"Doctor could you leave please. I would like to be alone with my family for a while now."

"Absolutely. Again I am sorry to tell you."

"You did everything you could. Do not blame yourself for the acts of God's hand, as was this." The doctor leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

"Ah Nodoka are you all right?" Her brother asks seeing his sister cry.

"Thank you God, thank you so much for this." She quietly murmurs while holding her newborn close to her breast.

"Hey Nodoka at least you'll never have to give birth to any of Genma's worthless line." Achika says while hugging her sister-in-law.

Above the world of the mortals the Kingdom of Heaven shines with a light brighter than any throughout the whole multiverse. At the Throne at the center of it all, God himself, Lord of all Creation, gazes down lovingly at the mother and child. He smiles down at them and blesses them with His own hand.

Months pass by for the new mother and child. Nodoka was busy fixing dinner as her son was in his crib sleeping.

"Ah my lovely No-chan how are you today." said her husband, just coming back inside from doing whatever he did during the day, drinking, going on about how his son was going to be the world's best martial artist, making excuses why in the hell he wasn't employed doing something.

"Fine husband, and how goes the job search?" Nodoka said in the most convincing manner possible as to hid the fact that she already knew the answer.

"Terrible, no one was hiring people to work anywhere." In other words the bars weren't looking for people to wait at the counter and he couldn't steal anything from the house to sell at the local pawn shop.

"Well you can try tomorrow then. Things should be better then." Nodoka said "And you could try to fight that Storm Shadow guy again and he finish what he started." She though quietly to herself.

"Of course you are right my dear. Tommorrow will be a better day, and I promise that one day we shall be living the easy life." Genma responded. What he didn't tell her was that day was going to be when Ranma married a Tendo and became the greatest martial arts instructor of all time. "Now I would like to talk to you about Ranma's training journey Nodoka. Soon it will be time for him and me to go out and.."

"No."

"journey the world for years as I teach him the ways of my family's school and then…"

"NO!" Nodoka yelled. "Ranma isn't even a year old yet dear husband. I will not let my baby go out into the world with only you with him, especially not with how much fuss you make in caring for him."

"But dear if you coddle him he will never become the greatest."

"He isn't even eating solid food Genma, he is too young." Nodoka said about to pull her sword on the overweight idiot. She was very grateful that her father-in-law and a young ninja he befriended named Hamato Yoshi had teaching her the ways of swordsmanship. She already had considerable talent in the field and all three agreed that it would be needed to keep Genma in line.

"Of course he's too young now." Genma sweated. "But we should start preparing for his journey."

"Genma what is so important that he can not learn here? You can just teach him as well here as you can on the road, even better as he will be going to school in a few years and I want him to have the very best education." Nodoka said.

"The training journey is a tradition Nodoka. If he does not go on it then the tradition shall be ruined and stain the Anything Goes Style." Nodoka did not need Ranma's real father's incredible sense of smell to know that something was rotten here.

"Genma we will discuss this later in great detail. Remember you did not have a great education and look how many jobs are open to you?" Not that you actually are looking you tub of lard. "What sort of future would you son have if he does not get through school."

"You want my son to become a book-worm? Never woman he shall be a great martial artist and be trained by the best in the world."

"I never said that. But there must be a compromise husband, and I don't think that living on the road is the best life for a child to be raised. How will you get food or shelter, or deal with disease for that matter?"

"What does not kill you only makes you stronger dear." Genma pushed out his chest with pride at the last statement. Nodoka just sighed, as getting Genma to do anything that he didn't have his mind set on was a waste of time and she just went on with making dinner.

The argument between Genma and Nodoka about Ranma's training journey went on for years. Neither side would let-up and tensions began to rise until finally when the young mutant was about five years old…

"Ah now son we have to get going." Genma said in the dead of night.

"Ah why pops?"

"You like marital arts right?" Genma asked.

"Of course the're really fun."

"And you want to become the best martial artist in the world right?"

"You bet pops."

"Well to do that you need to come with me and train hard to become the best."

"But wouldn't mom get worried? I mean she doesn't know we are leaving does she?"

"Oh we can't wake her now boy. She's very sleepy and needs her rest, but don't you worry I left her a note on the table that will explain everything. Now off we go to become the worlds best martial artists." Genma through Ranma over his shoulder and ran into the darkness before the boy could argue.

The next morning,

"Oh Ranma get up. Its time to start the day my special son." Nodoka said getting out of bed. "Ranma its time for breakfast get up." The red-head then walked into her son's room and found the bed left unmade and there was no sign of her son anywhere in the house.

"GENMA! GET UP SOMEONE HAS TAKEN RANMA! BLAST IT GENMA WHERE ARE YOU!" The only response was silence. Except for her he house was as empty as Genma's head. Running to the phone to call the police, she noticed a piece of paper that had been left there bearing her family's crest. Opening it she found that it was a suicide contract which gave Genma the right to train Ranma in the Anything Goes Style. "That bastard…That worthless bastard." Nodoka cried. Now she could not turn to the police as the contract was a perfect forgery of her signature and she had no grounds to call for their help. She picked up the phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in too many years.

"Hello Xaiver's school for the gifted, Charles Xaiver speaking how may I help you?"

"Charles Xaiver this is Nodoka. Is Logan-kun around by any chance?"

"Ah yes Mrs. Saotome.."

"Nodoka, please Charles, do not ever call me by that name again."

"Nodoka I will get him immediately." putting the phone to the side for the moment the head of the X-Men concentrates a little to send out a mental message to the Wolverine, currently outside working out.

"Logan phone for you."

"Eh who'd call me? Be there in a moment Chuck." Logan says shrugging his shoulders.

"It's Nodoka." At this Logan takes off like a rocket.

"No-chan you okay? What's Genma done to you?"

"Logan-kun is that you? Oh Logan it is so good to hear your voice after so long. Genma has taken our child and left a forged contract giving him the right to steal my son from me. The police can't do anything about this and I..I don't know who else to turn to."

"No-chan I'm to only man you ever have to turn to." Logan says as caring as he can.

"Thank you, thank you so much my love." Nodoka responds ending the call.

"Chuck I'll be gone for a while. I don't know when I'll be back."

"Logan if it that important then take the BlackBird." the bald man said turning his wheel chair towards the elevator.

"Chuck you're a good man." Logan said as the doors closed on their way to the hanger.

Behold SHIELD headquarters. Behold the most sophisticated and technologically advanced center of covert military intelligence ever to be build, the pride of the United States military, and…

"I see your five and raise you three."

Current location of the most infamous poker game in the world. At the table playing stud are three of the biggest names in the Marvel universe. Col. Nick Fury, the head of SHIELD, war hero, and overall bad ass with an affinity for cigars and kicking the crap out of terrorist organizations like Hydra. To his right is Captain America, Steve Rodgers, America's super soldier; war hero, warrior of great respect, defender of liberty, scion of freedom, Mr. Red White and Blue himself. The last hand in the game is General Abernathy, a.k.a. General Hawk, the future head of America's highly trained special missions forces known only by their code name: G.I.Joe.

"So Hawk they higher up selected you to head the new covert operations force?"

"Yep Nick, all we need is to figure out a battle cry."

As they talked two SHIELD technicians walked towards each other in the background.

"Hey Steve."

"Yo, Joe."

"Is that some sort of sign?" Captain America said boggling. Before any discussion could be raised on the topic, the doors to the room burst open as Logan steps towards the table. Not one of the SHIELD agents dared to ask what he was doing here, they actually wanted to live to see the next day.

"Fury we need to talk."

"Logan our game ain't till Thursday and you know it." The Col. Said taking a drag on his cigar.

"Damn it this ain't about no damn poker game."

"Then what in Sam Hill is it then?" Captain America asked.

"Somethin' real personal." Logan growled.

"Since when is anything with you not?" The other super soldier said sarcastically.

"It's about Genma." Logan growled.

Col. Fury shot up at that name. That overstuffed piece of shit had been a thorn in SHIELD's side for years as his stupidity had cost them operatives and intel they needed.

"If you two would excuse me. Logan and I have business that can't wait." Fury says placing his cards on the table and getting out of his chair.

"Who is Genma?" Gen. Hawk asked.

"Lets just say someone you don't want to have anything to do with." Captain America said. If the stories he had heard about the guy were right then he knew that no one would want to deal with the overweight moron.

Seen shift to several months later in the outskirts out a Japanese suburb. An animal was running through the forest constantly smelling the air for a trace of his prey's scent. Logan didn't have much time to waste, after all who knew what idiotic ideas Genma was stuffing down Ranma's throat? And even worse, what horrors he was exposing the kid to? Even after all these years Logan never forgot the stench of the swine who his precious No-chan was forced to be wed to. When he was finished with Genma, there wouldn't be anything left for the coroner's office to identify. A trace of that foul sent lingered in the air, it couldn't be more than a few hour's old if that. Along with that scent Logan detected another. A scent which reminded him of two other scents, his and Nodoka's. "Gotta be the kid's" Logan said to himself as he kept on running.

The final destination of the hunt was a clearing behind some houses which had a peculiar pit dug into the earth and the scent of several dozen felines coming from it.

"Dear Lord not the Neko-ken!" Logan though to himself as he saw Genma about to push the young man covered in fish bits into the pit. Logan leapt with all his might and ran like crazy towards Ranma. His powerful muscles driving him like crazy to his son's rescue.

"Not this time Genma!" Logan screamed as he grabbed his son with one hand and rolled away from the pit, nearly knocking Genma to his doom.

"Logan!" Genma screamed. "It can't be? What are you doing here? This is my son, and you have no right to interfere with his training." The coward tried as hard as he could to make himself look stronger than he was, but with the squealing like a

little girl and the fact he wet himself it was a lost cause.

"YOUR SON! That's a laugh fat ass. Ranma is No-chan's kid not yours and there is no way in Heaven or Hell that I will let you harm him with that bastard Happosi's training."

"You know my master?"

"Ha, the only master you have is your stomach, the perv only used fear to boss you around." Logan was getting a little pissed off that Genma could sink so low as a human, but that was a thought for another day. "Now the kid and I are goin' back to No-chan and you can either leave and live, or fight and get killed." Logan blew his lit cigar smoke into Genma's eyes as he snarled into the bastard's face.

Before Genma could decide what to do, Logan turned, picked up Ranma and headed off back towards his beloved's home, attempted to just let a quivering Genma remain where he was long enough for the cops to pick him up.

"You will not take my school's heir Logan!" Genma screamed/squealed as best he could trying to attack the mutant quick enough from behind that an escape was ensured. Genma had not counted on Wolverine's inhuman hearing and speed as before Genma could react the Canadian had already tossed Ranma safely away from the pit and the fight and already had his claws extended . In one effortless motion Wolverine tore into fat (a lot of it by the way), muscle, bone, and whatever else was in the way. As the Adamentium claws exited Genma, Logan pivoted and smashed him into the pit of cats.

"Fucking idiot." Logan shuck his head.

"AAAAAA!" A blood curdling scream erupted from the pit as Genma, blooded, beaten, and nearly dead, had lept above the fray and struck at Logan with all the strength he could summon with his last moments of life. He found himself impaled on Wolverine's claws going through the dying man's chest one way and out the other. The last thing Genma saw before he died was Ranma out of the ropes with his own blades coming out from between the knuckles. Before his eyes closed Genma made the connection, then his soul was sent to be judged. Wolverine retracted his claws and carried Ranma to his jeep a few miles away. The authorities arrived only moments later and decided that Genma had be killed by the some wild beast escaped from the zoo and that his son had been carried off by the same beast for food.

During the drive Ranma gazed at the man who had saved his life. He was strong, that was easy to tell, and he was a great warrior even greater than "pops". But something was off here.

"You're like me aren't you?" Ranma said during the drive.

"What do you mean kid?" Logan said while shifting gears.

"Well you have claws like I do, I mean in here." Ranma said pointing to his forearm. "And you smell kind of like me. Mom says that I shouldn't show people cause they wouldn't understand, sort of like I know how people smell, and how I can hear real good and stuff. So are you like me?" The innocent expression on Ranma's face hurt his real father's heart. What to tell him, what could he say.

"Ranma, do you know what a mutant is?"

"I hear about them on TV, some have really cool powers, and can do stuff I can't but it's sort of neat. Pops keeps saying that their not really people, but mama says they are, that they can't help the way that they were born. Why?"

"Kid…I'm a mutant, and most likely so are you. Look there's a lot that you might not understand, and I don't blame you if you don't want to know…" Logan honestly could not think of what to say.

"So you're my dad then, but then why did mama marry pops? I mean shouldn't people who love each other marry?" From the mouths of babes…

"Look kid, yea your mom and I loved each other, more than anyone else in the world, but her father didn't like me and she couldn't say no to him."

"Yea, he scares me sometimes. And mom just keeps quite except so say yes or no sir." Ranma says. "But why did you come now? Why not before?"

"Because Genma kidnapped you, and was about to hurt you real bad. He was going to through you in that pit back there."

"What? But….why?" Ranma almost started to cry.

"Kid don't worry about it. He didn't and no one's going to." Logan said placing a re-assuring hand behind his son's back.

"Are we going back to mama's then? I really want to see her." Ranma cried.

"Don't worry we'll be going there soon enough." Logan said putting his hand back at the wheel. "First thing is that we have to find an old buddy of yours who Genma hurt real bad." Logan just kept on driving for a while going past a few small villages and along dirt roads, for which Ranma was amazed that a vehicle could transverse so easily where it had taken days for him and his "Not pops" as he was thinking of calling him.

"Uh just wondering, but is there anything you want me to call you?" Ranma said as he and Logan just pasted another town.

"I don't know, never really thought about it that much. Most people call me Logan or Wolverine, but I don't think those would work too well."

"Wo..ver..eene?" Ranma tried to say, and not doing it so well.

"Eh, don't sweat it kid, you'll get the hand of it soon enough. So Ranma, any idea what you want to call me?"

"Well I called Genma pops, but he wasn't really my pops so do you mind if I call you that?"

"Sure, don't mind one bit." Logan smiled and rubbed to top of Ranma's head.

"Okay pops, so who is this that we are going to see?"

"Not tell'n it'd ruine the surprise." Logan says pulling the jeep to a stop and getting out.

"Hey that smells like..Uchan is that you?"

"Ranchan? YOU JACKASS I'LL KILL YOU!" the young cross dresser says about to lay one right on the boy's head with a spatula, except that she found herself off the ground being held by one hand grabbing the back of her shirt.

"Let me go, that jackass and his father have to pay for what they did to me!"

"Okay, you calm down right this minute, and I mean this minute kid." Logan said leaving no question in his voice. "Now let's talk like people here, got it."

"Fine." Ukyo replied crossing her arms and being let down to her feet.

"Uh Uchan what's going on we're friends." Ranma said, very confused by the way.

"What do you mean friends, your father.."

"Genma, little lady ain't that boy's father no more, and you both have a lot learn right now." Logan shook his head, this was going to take a while. A long, long while.

Author's Notes:

well this is the first instalment of my re-write, hope you all like it. As for the following chapters it will be slow at times so please be patient, and please review. Thanks to Silverscale in editing, and all those who read my original version and turned something I didn't really care about into a work I put my heart into.


	2. Chapter 2

Through the Years Chapter 2

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and anyother Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

When we last left our heros Logan had just saved Ranma's life from the dreaded fate Genma's stupidity would have caused. Now Logan has taken it upon himself to help fix certain problems which Genma would inevitably have left the future Ranma to deal with. Now both father and son are stuck in the middle of dealing with one of the most dangerous forces in the universe: an irate fiancee.

"What do you mean Genma isn't this jackass's father?" the young heir to the okonomiyaki style of matrial arts yelled, or at least tried to yell. Being too young to even go to the bathroom on one's own usually means that they tend to squeal when they try to yell.

"Kid who taught you how to cuss?" Logan responded dryly completely unfazed by the outburst of one little Ukyo Kuonji.

"No one. I taught myself..." the girl responded while closing her eyes and puffing out her chest to make herself look as tough as possible, but just made her look even cuter than before. This did not hold for too long under the gaze of the Wolverine for too long, nope it seems that Logan had the whole 'I'm not buying this story kid/ irritated father' look down pat. "From listening to my dad when he burns his hands on the stove." the girl finally relented ducking her head down and putting her finger to her lip in an attempt to look so helpless that she wouldn't get in trouble.

Logan just chuckled at all of it. "Well at least there are worst ways to learn..." Logan thought to himself. And just were was Ranma while this was going on? He was sitting there paying attention to the whole thing with his head darting back and forth between the two in a state of complete amazement. Where Genma had only passing interested in his child's rearing, only enough that the boy was alive and knew how to be the heir to the Anything Goes style, this new pop's was taking time, energy, and attention into the care of children.

"Now that is more like it. Now kid.."

"Ukyo."

"Ukyo. Now tell us where is your father. The kid here and I have a few words we need to discuss with him." Logan said with a smile, or as close to a smile as a smirk counts.

"If you want sir I'll take you too him, just don't refer to me as his daughter."

"Why's that U-chan? I mean its really confusing thinking of you as a girl, but at least it's the truth."

"Thanks Ranchan. You always made me feel better." Ukyo smiled. It was true she really could never stay mad at the guy, not when he actually treated her so nicely. But this moment wasn't going to last. Ukyo knew that once her old man saw her Ranchan then he would go into a hyperactive state where he would try to get Ranchan and her engaged again, which Ukyo wouldn't really mind but her father could embarrass her so much sometimes. Heck the guy mad her reject her true female nature and made her act like a little boy all the time. Of course it had been all Genma's fault leaving her at the side of the road; after all her Ranma honey didn't even have a clue that she was even a girl, how could he, her best friend in the world, be responsible for this. Well whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon.

Ukyo walked into her home and placed her outside shoes in their special place. She then sighed deeply and took in a big breath trying to get herself ready for the inevitable headache. "Hey daddy we have guests."

"Oh and who has my special son brought her today to our humble home?" a voice called from within.

"But I thought that you were a girl U-chan." Ranma asked, completely ignorant of the nearly obvious outcome of his question.

"He is a boy just like you do you understand?" The same voice said, though it was much harsher his initial greating and was followed by a very angry man marching towards the door. "Now who is it that calls my little son a girl?" the man asked. Of course his eyes were closed and his turned his head into the air so he did not recognize the young ranma from a few months ago.

"But she's a girl, as well as my best friend." Ranma said defiantly. Okay so he inherited his fathers stubbornness, or at least his bluntness.

"You!" The man says in shock, finally turning his head down to see the little Ranma all tensed up as if he was looking to kick this man's ass. "Oh glorious day my little girl can not be a woman again as her fiancée has returned to take her along with him and make sure her honor is restored." Ranma's eyes at this point are about the size of his immense stomach and the beginnings signs that his jaw will hit the floor are evident.

"What?"

"Oh its quite simple young man. Your father engaged you and my lovely Ukyo together by accepting the cart as her dowery. Now the two of you will be man and wife when you are older. Oh I am so happy that my daughter's honor is restored." Ranma blinks several times, then its clear to Ukyo, who hasn't taken her eyes of her friend since the three arrived. Ranma isn't really in shock as he's completely clueless as to what is going on. Logan is getting a little edgy right now as to the thoughtlessness of Genma selling off the kid for a cart. Logan could respect the idea of an arranged marriage, but this was ridiculous.

"Hey bub. Over here." Logan said, taking control of all attention in the room. "I have a few words we need to discuss."

"Very well, and who are you stranger. You do not seem to be from these parts, yet you speak our language so fluently. It is rare to find foreign travelers who know our language so well." He smiled. It was truly an honor to meet someone who took the time to learn of a land before visiting it.

"I am called Logan Kuonji-san and the two of us have some really important business to discuss about our children."

"Your child Logan-san? I was to understand that this young man was Genma's son? What is going on here?" The elder Kuonji asked in sheer befuddlement.

"It's a long story. In short Ranma here was abducted by Genma, who is no longer able to abuse him. He is my son and there are a few things we must discuss."

"I am most sorry to hear this." The man said dipping his head in a sign of exasperation. "Please come inside(2). The two of us have much to discuss. Ukyo, why don't you and your friend go and play outside for a while before washing for dinner."

"Sure daddy. Come on Ranchan lets spar." The little girl giggled for the first time in a long time while nearly tearing Ranma's arm out of its socket in rout out the door.

"Logan-san please sit down. I take it that you think me a fool for what I have done to my girl. But I have a reason."

"Let me guess. You're not long for this world." Logan said flatly in a serious tone.

"I don't know how you deduced it, but you are correct. My life will soon be over and I will join my wife who died giving my daughter life. I have been to as many specialists as I can afford, which is why you don't see much in the way of decoration in my home, and they have all told me the same thing. I have certain rare medical conditions from where I grew up as a child. The ground was saturated with chemical waste from a broken land fill, but we did not know that until people kept getting sick. It was thought that I was one of the lucky ones as I never got sick like the other children of the village. Soon after people discovered the problem we all moved. I took up the art and meet my loving wife and have raised my daughter without knowing the terrible effect that would come back to haunt me."

"Just asking bub, but your daughter..."

"Is as healthy as can be Logan-san. You needn't worry, she turned up negative to all the tests; immediately after I discovered the condition I had her tested too. I have been treating the condition for a long time now and I have been taking medical aid to help, but it only slows down the problems I have and I will most likely die before my daughter is old enough to truelly understand. So you see why I had her engaged when I did. I want my daughter to remember me as a lively man, who loved her dearly and spar her the sight of a sick man who will suffer painfully in his last days. When Genma left her I did what I could to make her as tough as possible to survive the harsh real world, even if it made her hate me just so that she had something to make her go on." Ukyo's father pours Logan a cup of coffee and sits down.

"Kuonji-san if you want I'll take your daughter with me. I know that my No-chan won't mind us raising the little girl as our own. Besides, the kid out there does love her, just as a friend or brother would. They're both too young for any ideas of marriage."

"I would agree, but I was desperate. You probably know how the Japanese treat the disabled, and I could not bear to let my girl grow-up in an orphanage wondering why did her daddy leave her. It is a blessing that you came here Logan-san, even more so than Genma for you are a man of honor and I trust that you will take care of my little girl." The other man smiled. "If it is not too much trouble I would be honored for you to join us for dinner. We do not often get guests and it is rather late to be heading home."

"I would be honored to be welcomed to your table. But before we get any further, I think you should know who your trusting to raise you daughter." SKINT. Logan extended his blades in a non-threatening manner so that the master of the house could see them.

"How did you? Are those actually part of you?"

"Yep they are. Adamentium, strongest metal on earth as well as a few other places. These got forced on me years ago."

"Then how did you survive? Could it be used to save me?" The other father asked with hopeful expectation.

"Wish it could, but no it can't." Logan shook his head. "It might prolong your life, but my gift couldn't fix something as long in the making as you have."

"Then you are a mutant. I have never met one before. Tell me have you ever heard of Sunfire, my nation's protector?"(1)

"More than heard of him; worked with him a few times." Logan smirked. "Code name is Wolverine."

"Then the gods have truly blessed me this day. For even though I will die, I know that my daughter will be taken care for by a hero. I only ask that you train her in the arts as with your own son. She is as natural at it as he is and she loves to learn."

"You have my word Kuonji-san."

"Then let us get ready for dinner. In the morning I will have my daughter get ready to go with you. All my affairs are in order and she will never have to suffer the pain of seeing her old man in misery she can not relive." Ukyo's father sits up and goes to the sink. "After dinner you and your son may have the guest room."

"I'll get the kids. And you don't have to worry, No-chan and I will take care of Ukyo as if she were our own daughter."

Dinner was a happy event for the Kuonji family. Ukyo actually saw her father acting normally for once in a long time. Ranma had to be disciplined a few times for his eating habits..

"Ra-chan slow down. What were you raised in the wild?" Ukyo asked trying to make dishes as fast as Ranma inhaled them.

"Uh yea U-chan. Besides this is training."

"Only if you start to choke and one of us has to use you for Heimlich maneuver training." Logan said nearly at a growl.

"Ah got it pops." Ranma said. "Boy the new pops can be even scarier than the old one." He thought to himself.

"I am glad to see that my daughter's cooking is so well liked. You have a great skill for it U-chan."

"Thank you daddy. I learned from the best."

With much joy the night did follow, and for once in too long a time the home that Ukyo had lived in was not a dark and miserable place to live, but rather there was a warm that glowed around it like a night that had been for too long was finally broken by the light of new dawn.

As the metaphorical changes to the literal, the Kuonji household is filled with motion as the now three intrepid voyagers are preparing to set out.

"U-chan are you sure that you have packed everything?" her father asked while the little girl finishes preparing her pack for the long journey ahead of her.

"Well I got my cloths, my few pictures, my spatulas, bedding...yea I think that I have everything daddy."

"Really?" The man asked with a playful smirk on his face. "I think that you forgot this." The man's hand reached behind his back and pulled out two things from his belt. One was an envolop only marked with Ukyo's name on the front, and the other was a weathered old scroll wrapped in what was most likely once ornate decoration. "These are for you my little girl."

"But daddy, what are these?" Ukyo asked, having no idea how to respond to this.

"They are for you when you are older. I don't want you to open the letter until you are many years older, but the scroll is that of our okonomiyaki martial arts style."

"But shouldn't that stay with you?" The little girl asked. "I mean you are the school's head?"

"That is true, but you will be going to be training and traveling with Ranma and his father for a long time, and I will not be there to teach you our style. However, you can learn from this scroll all that I can teach you. I am so sorry that I will not be there myself my little U-chan but I can not travel with all the medicine that I take." The father said giving his little girl on of the biggest, most affectionate hugs that she had ever experienced in the few years she had been alive.

"I..I understand. Take care daddy. I'll miss you so much." Ukyo begins to cry into her father's chest as holds him as tight as she can.

"It will be alright my girl. I have the address where you will be staying and I will write you as often as I can. Now go on and get your stuff into the nice man's jeep. I need to talk to your friend Ranma for a moment." the older Kuonji said while gently pushing the girl on the back towards the outside.

"Ranma, may I have a word with you?" The ailing man asked sitting down on the bench outside his home.

"Okay Kuonji-san. You need me for something." Ranma asked dusking his hands off from loading his pack into the trunk of his old man's ride.

"I just want to ask a favor from you little one." The taller man smiled. "You are my daughters friend are you not?" If Ranma knew what to look for he would have known this was a rhetorical question.

"Of course I'm friends with U-chan, she's my best friend after all." Yep, completely oblivious to what is about to happen.

"Good, very good. I want you to take care of her for me, like a brother would. She will be in an unfamiliar place with people she does not know and she will need someone to help her grow up. Will you help her for me."

"Well sure I can do that. Heck I would love it if she was my sister; that would mean we could spend a lot of time together and not worry about moving away again." The little mutant smiled.

"You are already sounding like a brother should Ranma, that is very good. My little Ukyo will need someone that close to her to comfort her soon, and most likely you will need her as well when the world gets hard growing up. Thank you for comforting a sick man's weary soul." With that Ranma headed to the passenger's seat and buckled himself in.

"Well time to get this show on the road." Logan said taking one last drag on his cigar before it got too short.

"You seem to be in a less that happy mood this morning." The other man said.

"I'm just waiting for the other shoe to fall. It is going to be one hell of a mess to have to explain back home."

"Ah the unstable nature that is a woman. My friend you are wise to be so cautious. But fear not, I don't know any woman who could turn away such a loving pair." the adult Kuonji said looking at the two kids arguing over the radio station.

Logan just pinched his nose and shook his head. He came to rescue one kid, now he had to deal with two. What in the hell happened to make things go so out of control? Well time to get this show on the road he thought flicking the now used-up Cuban to the ground and stomping it out of existence with the heel of his boot. "Okay you two stop changing my stations and sit down." Logan said bucking up.

"Hey pop anyother stops along the way?" Ranma asked sitting back while ridding shotgun.

"Only for gas and a thing of roses kid, not picking up any more runts along the way." Logan smirked while shifting gears and turning onto the highway. Ranma and Ukyo groaned at the runt comment, but said nothing.

"Ah Logan-san where are we going?" the little Ukyo asked.

"Heading home kid, or at least back to your mom's." Logan sighed pointing to Ranma.

"Uh what are you talking about? You don't live with Ran-chan's mom?"

"It's complicated little lady. Lets just say that the kid's Grandpa and I don't get along but his mom and I love each other very much."

"Oh so your now coming home the great hero who vanquished the evil villain and is now returning to claim your true love, oh this is so romantic." Ukyo giggled doing that whole girly anime flower and heart thing that looks like a care bears attack.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ranma said jokingly while sticking out his tounge and having his hands over his neck indicating chocking.

"Turn your head out the window kid you ain't messing up my jeep." the old man said sticking his thumb towards the open side window.

"You two are making fun of me." Ukyo cried in the sort of way only a little girl who is being picked on can.

"Settle down, I'm not going to be dealing with this the whole trip." Oh you can tell that Logan is ready for fatherhood. The scene cuts to black.

Time passes slowly for one Nodoka Saotome. She finds herself in a state of constant and surrounding doubt. She has not received any news of her beloved since she read the paper yesterday morning. It had said an escaped zoo animal had attacked and killed a Genma Saotome, who had to be identified by dental records the body had been mangled so badly, and Ranma Saotome was missing and presumed dead being carried off by whatever killed his father. Nodoka had smiled at that. She knew what animal had really attacked and killed her husband that day, but it was not from any zoo. She also knew her son had been rescued. No predator no matter how desperate would attack such an easy target without taking the meat with it, not to mention that there wouldn't have been Genma that it attacked by the child who had no defenses, the claws didn't count because no one knew he had them outside four people. But a predator would kill to protect its offspring, and that is just what had happened. Nodoka had never asked Logan to kill Genma, but she knew that her Logan-kun would do whatever it took to keep her son safe. This did not, however, take away the young mother's dread for her son's safety as so many things could have happened in route back home. Her tired form sat down in a chair in her living room as her eyes showed the weariness one receives from lack of sleep. Nodoka was so tired she almost didn't hear the knocking on the door.

"Who could it be at such a late hour?" Nodoka asked herself standing up and doing some on the spot changes to appear more proper for company, whoever it was. The police had come and gone and the reporters were not hounding her for information as the estate she lived at was too inaccessible to try to get into. "I am sorry for keeping you waiting, but I have not sleep well recently, how may I be of assistance?" She said opening the door and bowing with her eyes closed as not to show that she was so tired.

"You can let me see your pretty face again. I think you'll be getting to sleep a lot better now." A voice she had not heard in person for too many years now spoke to her.

"Logan-kun?" Nodoka asked hopefully as every joint in her body trembled. She rose and looked into the eyes of her one true love for the first time since before her son was born. "Logan-kun you returned to me! I knew you would my love" She cried into the Canadian's chest letting go of years of built-up depression and heartache.

"It's okay No-chan I promised I'd get the kid back. I go these for you." Logan said pulling out a bucay of roses and handing them to his love. "I thought it was the least I could do." the mutant smiled.

"Wow I've never seen mom act like this with the old pops." Ranma said out of complete shock.

"That is because he was a jackass." Nodoka turned her head and saw two of the most precious looking childern on earth right next to her love. One she knew immediately was her beloved son, the other was the cutest girl she had seen in a long time.

"Logan-kun who is this young lady?" Nodoka asked, manners could wait till later since Nodoka had though of some far more appropriate words to refer Genma by.

"The names Ukyo Kuonji ma'am." The girl bowed. "And I am Ran-chan's best friend and sparing partner. My daddy's not feeling so good so Ranma honey's father is now training me."

"Really? How thoughtful of my Logan-kun." Nodoka said looking to Logan for an explanation. What she got was a pair of closed eyes and the mouthed expression of "He was dieing" in English. Nodoka closed her eyes and dipped her head for a moment before turning back towards the girl.

"Ms. Kuonji I am happy to meet you and welcome you all into my home. I am sorry that I do not have anything made for you, but I did not expect anyone at this hour." She directed everyone into her house which was now once again a home.

Once the trunk was emptied, and take-out was eaten as no one was really in the mood to cook anything, The family sat down for a very long discussion.

"Ms. Kuonji, do you mind if I call you Ukyo?"

"Not at all. If your Ran-chan's mom then I don't mind."

"Thank you. Ukyo I am very honored to have you at my home, but there are a few difficulties which must be faced as soon as possible. Your father did not legally sign us as your guardians for the time of your stay."

"What does that mean?" Ukyo asked, being a little girl she really couldn't be faulted for not understanding.

"It means that in order for you to be here legally we must establish that this house is your home and we are your family. In other words adopting you." Nodoka said calmly and maternally.

"Uh why?"

"So that you can go to school, be seen by doctors, other such everyday activities. In other in order for you to stay we need to establish you as our daughter in the eyes of the law."

"Oh. I still get to keep my name right?"

"Of course Ukyo. This is more a formality that anything else. Speaking of names; Ranma I need to ask you something."

"Uh sure mom, what is it?"

"You are, unfortunately, named after Genma. You saw how he was not a good man and hurt those around him such as you, Ukyo, and most of all me. I really do not want to have to be reminded of what he did to us, not to mention he was not your real father."

"Okay, so what happens now?"

"I am asking you to change your name from Ranma to something else you like."

"Hey wait a minute I like calling him Ran-chan." came the outburst from Ukyo.

"There is nothing wrong with the Ran part of his name. Just the ma part. I actually think its cute that you call him Ran-chan." Nodoka smiled that motherly smile that ends all arguments in small children by embarrassing the heck out of them.

"Okay, so I can't be Ranma any more." The little boy thought for a moment then looked at his real father, who was taking this all in. "Uh what did you say your code name was pops?"

"Wolverine. A vicious animal from the forests of North America why?"

"Wol-her-eine? I don't think I can say that. How about Okami? would that be okay?"

"Wild wolf heh? They aren't related to Wolverines, but close enough. Anyway it's easier to say."

"Very well. From now on you are Ran Okami. We still have to deal with your family name, but that can wait till later. Right now it is time for you two to go to bed. Ukyo I have a room set-up for special guests would you like to have it?"

"Absolutely Ms. Ran-chan's mom."

"Please call me Auntie, it makes me feel younger."

"Okay Auntie." the little girl smiled as the mother lead her upstairs.

It was dark outside when Nodoka closed-up her house. She couldn't really stay-awake any more but she didn't feel like going to bed. As she passed by the lounge room she saw Logan fingering something by the light of one lamp.

"Logan-kun are you alright?"

"Sorry darl'n didn't mean to startle you." Logan said smiling for the first time in a long time.

"No I was just closing-up for the night. Is there something on your mind beloved?" Nodoka asked returning the smile.

"I was just thinking, about earlier."

"Yes love?"

"About the family name and all." Logan heart was raising like mad. He could handle Sabertooth without breaking a sweat, Magneto didn't scare him one bit, he had faced the fury of the Third Reich and the frigid cold of the Canadian wilderness, then why could such a small thing scare him so much.

"I know it will be difficult. Thankfully my father made the mistake of angering the Foot Clan by attacking my teacher Hamato Yoshi and forcing the man to defend himself so I am now the head of the clan, so long as I am married that is. I have time to find another husband since Genma can no longer hurt us."

"Darlin' I just wanted to know. If you would..." Logan got up and stood in front of Nodoka. He kneeled before her and held out a small band of gold with a diamond on it.

"Would you be my wife No-chan." There is no measurement so infinitesimal as the time it took her to answer.

"Yes! Oh yes beloved." Nodoka responded by tackling Logan and knocking the two of them on the couch.

"You've been working out." Logan smile.

"Oh Logan-kun I have waited too long to answer that question. You kept it for me all this time?"

"Never let go of it." Suddenly the couch seemed a lot nicer place right now than the bed.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: The Wedding of Nodoka and Logan

Author's comments:

I am glad so many people liked the first chapter to this work, so I thought I would be nice to answer some questions asked from the audience. For starters Ran Okami's claws are not Adamentium, yet, they are bone like the core material of his father's claws as revealed in the Origin story released by marvel comics a few years ago. Also, Ran Okami's powers are not fully developed at this point, so his senses are only slightly better than a normal human and he doesn't have the inhuman regenerative abilities of his father at this point. If you are wondering about pairings I already set the character pairing in the outline of my work last year, this is just the extended story that goes with the outline.

(1) Sunfire is just a teenage superhero at this point, but no one knows about it just yet.

(2) The Kuonji family has a house because Ukyo's father's health was getting so bad he could not travel so he had to set-up residence somewhere and try to give his daughter a future. I know this isn't in the standard Ranma story line but how else would Logan have found Ukyo so easily?


	3. Chapter 3

Through the Years Chapter 3

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

Previously in Through the Years:

Logan retrieved his and Nodoka's lost son and has taken it upon himself to raise the young Ukyo Kuonji as his own in light of the inevitable death of the head of the Kuonji household. The Logan family has almost become whole as Nodoka has accepted Logan's hand in marrage. Now on with the story.

"I can't understand why we have to wear these stupid suites." Ran Okami complained while running his finger along the colar of his dress shirt. Being completely out of his element the young mutant could not get comfortable in his tuxedo. Oh well at least the new clothes that his mom had gotten him were more comfortable, not to mention they were in a lot better shape than his old gi that he always wore.

"Somethin' we all have to put-up with from time to time kid. I don't like it any more than you do, but it makes your mom happy." Logan responded while putting on his cufflinks. It had been three of the happiest months in Logan's life, or at least the three happiest that he could remember. It had taken a while for him and his No-chan to prepare for all their friends and family to join them in this most joyous of celebrations, but the down time was worth it. With such a large chunk of Wolverine's memory missing you would think that he would have only a handful of guests on his list, but he actually had to invite more people than his fiancee. Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Professor Xavier, Sunfire, a few of the new kids Xavier had found and added to his growing list of X-Men with code names like Cyclops and Marvel Girl all teenagers who had yet to see real battle and it would be Logan's job to train this new recruits if they ever had a chance to survive what some of the maniacs would do. Even an old teammate who had taken the time away from his studies for his masters name Henry McCoy had come to Tokyo to join the festivities. The currently human-looking beast had to have his tux specially tailored so that his already enormous physique wouldn't rip at the wrong moment and embarrass everyone. Nodoka had invited the only other members of her family not yet dead, meaning her brother, his wife and their young son Tenchi only a few month's Ran Okami's junior. There was also Hamato Yoshi there fully enjoying a conversation with his friend Katsuhito out in the foyer waiting for the bride and groom. It was a text-book case of something about to go wrong in Logan's life, but he covered his wearyness as best he could. This wasn't just his day it was also the day his No-chan had waited for before the kid was born, and come Hell or high water he was going to do whatever it took to make it special for her.

"Just being near you make mom happy." Ran Okami smirked making a joke.

"Your mom has good taste kid. You got your stuff packed?"

"Yep pops. I don't know why you and mom are going to Hawaii on your own for a month, but I don't mind going to Tenchi's for a while; might be fun."

"It's just something that people who are just married do kid. No-chan and I have some really important catching-up to do." Logan smiled looking forward to the time with just him and Nodoka. Boy was he ever looking forward to it.

"Why? You spend ever available moment together; how long does it take to catch-up for being gone for a few years?" Regardless of the dimension it appears that Ranma is faited to ask just the wrong question at just the wrong age.

"You never really do kid. You'll understand if a few years." Logan said straightening his coat.

"If you say so pops, but I think that there's always something I won't understand." Ran Okami said scratching the back of his head.

"Welcome to the real world kid." Logan turned his wrist and checked the time. Still had a few minutes to go before he said "I do" to the most important woman in his life. Taking a deep breath he prepared himself for the biggest step that he had ever taken in his life. Bigger that leaving Alpha Flight, bigger than joining Chuck in the X-Men, hell it was bigger than even the steps he had taken to try to find his memory. It was this fact that scared him, scares all men actually. Before this all paths are open and the future unsure, but after this step there is no going back to a time of only having to care about your life. The fear and uncertainty that creeps into the back of a man's mind at this point challenges them to face the fact that they must accept a responsibility never before known; a duty that there is no comparison with. Logan stiffened slightly at this thought. His eyes closed, he stood at attention he cleared his mind of all traces of doubt and focused his thoughts on one line "I love Nodoka. I want no other than her in my life. I will love her for as long as I live and no other shall know my love but her." Logan opened his eyes and popped his neck and knuckles. The slight metallic ping betraying his metal bones within. As he walks towards his place at the head of the line an old passage ran through his mind. He could not place where or when he had seen it, but it was as clear as the memory of his fiancée's face.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and though me. And when it is gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain..." (1)

Meanwhile in another part of Nodoka's home, a term which she adamently believed was appropriate now, the truly blushing bride was making every slight change to her appearance she could to remove the slightest of imperfections in her appearance for her Logan-kun.

"Honestly Aunty you look great." Ukyo giggled while the closest person she had to a mother was pruning herself like a bird making slight tugs to her kimono, changing the placement of a few strands of her hair, never truly satisfied with the way she would appear for her beloved. "If I know my Ranma honey's dad he won't be able to keep his eye's off of you." The chef in training joked.

"Thank you U-chan. I know that I am probably making a fool of myself, but I have looked forward to this since long before you were born and I can't help but feel so worried that something is going to go wrong."

"Well I know that Mr. Logan will be waiting down at the end of that carpet for you however you look. Whenever he looks at you he has this stare that he just seems not to notice anything else but you. Of course when I try to use this apparent weakness when he's training me and Ranchan I usually find myself on my back and being told to work on my recovery time." Ukyo smiled as Nodoka chuckled slightly.

"You are correct dear. Logan-kun sees me as I see him. With love in his eyes and fidelity in his heart. He is truly a man amongst men, the type of man which comes around but once in a lifetime." Nodoka smiled as she pictured how Logan would look in only a pair of swim trunks on their honeymoon. Yep this made the five year hell known as Genma seem all worth it...okay so it was still intolerable to have to deal with Genma and an self-deluded idiot of a father, but she had stood the test of time unlike the two scumbags who only received the title man because of the fact they had XY chromosomes. Shacking her head for a moment Nodoka wished that her mother was alive to see her today. The matriarch of the clan thought how loving and noble her mother was, how she saw that try commitment to the code of Bushido is found in the character of a person, not by the fact that a family's name had received honor, but that the person who held the name bore that honor with dignity. She had said that even those without a family of notoriety could themselves be of more nobility than lineages that could be traced back through the centuries. Nodoka's mother had said she formed this ideology when she read of one of the greatest leaders in the foreign country of America, a land which Nodoka wanted to visit very much after hearing that. This man had been someone of great noteriety, character, dignity, courage, and of great wisdom. Who he was Nodoka couldn't remember clearly as the system of government was so different from her own that she couldn't compare the two as she was growing up. It had to deal with "not caring who his grandfather was, but rather who his grandson is" (2) or at least it was close to it. It had been to long since Nodoka had been read that particular quote and she couldn't even remember who said it. Shaking her head slightly as if to cast out all resent thoughts the red-head smiled at her reflection. When she walked down the isle this time it would be to greet a man she would be proud to call husband. With grace and elegance honed from years of physical training in both martial arts and the schools of grace, Nodoka rose and headed out the door with such fluidity that she appeared to not be moving at all under her kimono. Without even noticing, her silent footfalls went unnoticed my most. If people did not know better they would have sworn that she was a phantom from a by-gone age. But this phantom's cheeks were rosy red as her hair blushing as she stepped to the end of the hall where her Grandfather-in-law would soon be waiting to give the bride away. As the closest thing to a father in her life, Katsuhito agreed without hesitation to play this part. And why not, for it was he those many years ago who introduced the young couple.

Flashback:

A fiery red-headed eighteen year old Nodoka was visiting her new in-laws while her father back home was franticly searching for a husband for her. He absolutely did not agree with his spunky daughter being so independent and strong-willed. How was she ever to find a man if she did not relent her will and allow some rich or politically powerful man to be her master. Nodoka on several occasions had rejected her father's choices for her. They all seemed as if it was going to be her duty to just look pretty and allow them to do as they pleased. Nodoka wanted a man who at least respected her, one she could be proud of being the wife of. All of these sutters only wanted her for her family's wealth, not even noticing that she even existed. In retaliation for this she poured herself into physical and mental activity; training her mind and body as best she could. Whenever she met a master of martial arts, any of the arts, she would train as diligently as possible to perfect herself in whatever practice it was. Thus why she was here. This man known as Katsuhito had come from a line of swordsmen who could take pride in their heritage and lived in a manner to reflect the true nobility of the code. When her new teacher first placed the wooden training boken in her hand she surprised him with her almost instinctive manipulation of it. It was not as graceful as a trained warrior with several gaps in her defenses and sloppy executions of certain moves, but the potential was obvious. Over the course of several months of hard training she nearly became her sister-in-laws equal, a though that almost scared her brother who was never really good at physical activity. He would try his best but it seemed that his body refused to become ripped or his reflexes quicken. It wasn't his body though that impressed the alien princess though; he had a knack for mathematical problems and was a diligent student who could almost intuitively design any building asked of him in great detail, besides he made her happy. Nodoka though was not just a phenomenal martial artist, but also a very intelligent one who had graduated high school at the top of her class and it seemed poised to go on to Tokyo University. She had already decided to go into biology as she loved nature and seemed to have a way with animals, but it was not to be. The moment that she graduated high school the patriarch of her clan had done everything in his power to see that she was married off and to have as many children as she could. Nodoka might have wanted a large family of her own, but damn it she wanted to be more than just a freaking brood mare. Children required attention, energy, time, all things that she couldn't give right now and she didn't want to be stuck with a lot of kids with a scumbag who would just leave her and go to the red district whenever he got an itch. To add insult to injury Nodoka's father had left in his will that she was to be the head of the clan were he to die, on the stipulation that she was married. If she did not fufill that part of his wishes then she would be ronin. The nerve of that man was ludicrist.

"Ah Nodoka dear you seem to be distressed." The aged Jurian said smiling at his student.

"Ah Katsuhito-sensei I am sorry I did not hear you come in." Nodoka bowed to her teacher.

"It is quite alright my dear. You seem to loose yourself in the art, able to train flawlessly while your mind wanders off somewhere else. This can be very dangerous in battle my dear, but I can tell that you have a lot on your mind." turning towards the door to the outside, Katsuhito wiped his brow then returned towards his student. "It also appears that you did not notice how hot it has gotten in here. The ability to ignore minor physical annoyances in indeed the sign of great skill, or you just didn't notice it." Opening the door to the cold winter's day, the swordsman walked back towards the inside door.

"That does feel very good." Nodoka said allowing the sharp cold coming off the snow to relax her profusely sweating body. Her t-shirt and sweat-pants were nearly drenched after the hours she had been working. There was almost no part of her well-toned, lithe body that the sweat did not reveal. Her teacher had to turn his head for a moment not realizing how well Nodoka cared for herself.

"Now my dear what is it that would make you loose your concentration so much?"

"It is my father sensei." Nodoka bowed her head.

"Is it that you miss him? You have only been gone for a few days." The look on the man's face betrayed that he knew exactly what the problem was, yet his question feighted complete ignorance.

"It is not that sir. My father wishes me to be wed soon."

"Why not. A woman of many talents such as yourself would make almost any man proud to call you his wife."

"Thank you sensei, but that is something which most of my father's choices for me do not see, my father as well. They all see me as a bartering chip, something used in exchange for something. I can not stand to be wed to one who can not see me more than the heir to a vast fortune."

"Then it is not the act of marriage which you object to, but rather that you see a true man to be your husband." Katsuhito stroked his beard in thought. "Tell me what do you think your ideal husband would be?"

"Someone who posses strength of character as well as strength of the body. One who does not judge himself by other's, but rather a man who seeks to find the true warrior's path. One who would love me with fidelity as I would love him. Someone who I would want to bear the children of with pride."

"Ah, and what of his appearance? What would this man look like?"

"His appearance would be at least moderately hansom. I have a thing for the way someone's eyes look. Perhaps dignified or feral, but mostly noble. I am more concerend with his ability to put others before himself more than I am what he looks like."

"Tell me then my student, what if this man can not be found in Japan? What would you do then?"

"Then I would not marry a man from Japan; It is that simple sensei."

"It is very hard to find a diamond in the rough my dear, but it said that all that glitters is not gold. You seem to be very wise in your choice for a mate. I hope that you have luck finding him." The smile that Nodoka received almost made her giggle as if being looked at by a father catching a child in a day-dream. "But back to why I came here. I have an old friend of mine who has come to visit for a short while. He has traveled for many miles and I would like you meet him." Katsuhito said ushering a massively built man in. "Nodoka, allow me to introduce you to one of the most dear friends I have one this world. This is Logan and he has traveled all the way from the eastern side of North America to visit me." Ah the life of a matchmaker.

"It is and honor Logan-san." Nodoka stuttered as she saw this very different man before her. His cloths were stretched over his large muscle, and they were of a style she had never see before. His coat was jet black and she could see some sort of banded pattern on the shirt he wore under it. Red and white and green all criss-crossing in a manner most peculiar to her. His pants were faded blue-jeans with a brown leather belt around his waist connected by a shiny buckle. He held his newly removed boots, brown leather with a metal point at the end like those from foreign movies were the people road on horses in the desert, under his arm. His face bore the signs of many years of life and many battles fought. Although his hair looked jumbled as one would expect from coming out from a windy winter's day, his face looked as if he hadn't shaved recently though there were no whiskers evident. But it was not his white skin but rather his wondrous eyes that struck Nodoka the most. They were almost animal, feral in appearance, yet they were not angry eyes. These showed a nobility to them, a noble savagery that Nodoka had never seen before.

"The honor is mine Nodoka-san." His pronunciation was flawless and his thick accent was most attractive to the young red head. And to him, she was the most beautiful creature Logan had laid eyes on in a long time.

"If you too would pardon me, I have many things to do today. I trust that you can find some common ground on your own for a while." It is best to let nature take its course than force such things together. Katsuhito left the two be as they got to know each other better in their own time.

End Flashback.

"Well Nodoka, are you ready to do this?" the alien prince asked smiling at his greatest student.

"Sensei no one is ever really ready. But I am more than happy to do this." Nodoka said.

"How correct you are my dear. I have looked at you as if you were my own daughter, and now I am so proud that you are about to marry the man you love my dear."

"I almost wish that I was your daughter sensei. But I am very glad that you see me in this manner." Nodoka smiled.

They stood together as the doors opened on the large ball room of Nodoka's mansion. There were two parallel rows of seats on either side of the hall separated by a red carpet leading to the front where the priest, a friend of Katsuhito from when he himself had trained to become a Shinto priest, stood above Logan to the right of the isle with Ran Okami next to him holding the rings on a pillow, and in obvious discomfort from the unfamiliar texture. It is said that time slows down as you reach the speed of light, then why was it that this short walk took so long at a steady pace of only a few miles per hour? But then she was there. Standing across from her beloved.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to wed Logan and Nodoka in Holy matrimony. If anyone for any reason disagrees with these two to be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." Some smart ass crickets were really temped to start singing now, but possessing vastly more brains than Genma kept quiet letting the rings be placed on the lovers' hands.

"Logan do you take Nodoka to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

"I do." Logan said without hesitation.

"Do you Nodoka take Logan to be your husband, to love, honor, and obey till death do you part?"

"I do." Nodoka said proudly, far much more so than ever before.

"Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." It is unknown what the record is for the fastest start to French kissing, but this had to be a record somewhere. The cheers from all present went unnoticed by the two lovers caught in their own world for what seemed like an eternity.

"Ready to face the world No-chan?"

"I have nothing to fear with you by my side Logan-kun."

For the benefit of Ran Okami we will fast forward to the party where he can take that stupid coat off and actually get comfortable. It is here that the young mutant makes a very important conclusion: sometimes you have to be patient to get really good food, and when your old man decides to cut the cake with his claws with your moms hand on his fist it sometimes means more than choosing to use the knife. It also gets a few laughs in.

"So this is your kid Logan. Good thing he got his looks from his mom." A man said laughing. Ran Okami looked to see the guy with an eye-patch over his left eye and white hair around his head.

"Laugh it up Fury." Logan growled.

"Now Logan behave." Nodoka smiled kissing his cheek, and pausing only to elbow Nick in the stomach without paying him much mind. Staggering slightly the old war dog smirked.

"You sure married a fireball their Weapon X. You sure she doesn't have a sister."

"Even if she did I couldn't take you as an in-law Fury." Logan responded drier than James Bond's martinis.

"How are you enjoying yourself my son?" Nodoka asked the young boy, who was busy eating.

"It's okay I guess. I'm just going to miss you for a month."

"It will be okay dear. I know you will enjoy seeing your cousin and training with U-chan while we are gone. Besides it isn't nearly as long as you were gone with Genma." Nodoka said placing her hand on her son's shoulder.

"I guess. But you sure that you'll come back?"

"Of course we will my son, and we will make sure to bring you and U-chan something from the trip. Just be a good guest for your Aunt and Uncle. Remember this is part of your training."

"Okay mom. Do you mind if I meet some of these people for a while?"

"Not at all my son." Ran Okami got up and proceeded to walk around the large room. He had never before be in the company of so many people and they not try to chaise him down. Before he could think more on the topic, a bald man in what looked like a chair mixed with a cart spoke to him.

"Greetings young man, and how are you today?"

"Fine thank you..." Ran Okami bowed slightly to this new person. He had a welcoming smile and a powerful presents that the young boy just couldn't figure out.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier young man. I take it that you are the son of my college Logan am I correct?" The older man bowed his head in response.

"How do you know my pops?"

"Well your 'pops' and I are team mates of sorts, bringing peace between humans and mutants."

"So you're his boss or something?"

"In a manor of speaking I am, but I prefer to look at it as a more equal relationship. He helps me to rescue those in humanity who posses powers that others are frightened by, and help them learn to use their special talents to aid their fellow man."

"You mean like these?" Six bone claws extended themselves from the Wild Wolf's knuckles as his hands hung loose from his sides.

"Yes just like that." the Professor said in mild shock as the claws once again disappeared into Ran Okami's forearm. "There are other like us who posses powers that can seem terrifying, and even might be dangerous. That is why your father helps me to train these people to control there abilities."

"Like what?" the younger mutant asked scratching the back of his head.

"For instance...Scott could you come over here for a moment?"

"Sure Professor. Who's the kid?"

"Scott this is Ran Okami, Logan's son. Ran Okami this is Scott Summers one of my newest students."

"How's it going?" Cyclops asked extending his hand. Ran Okami stares for a moment. "Oh sorry you're supposed to shake it."

"Ah why?"

"The same reason that you would bow to someone. It is a greeting gesture." Professor X answered.

"Oh okay." and thus did Logan's son give and receive his first handshake. "So what's your power?"

"Well I absorb sunlight and blast it out my eyeballs." Scott answered sheepishly.

"That sounds different..."

"It means that I shoot an energy beam out of my eyes, which is why I have to were these all the time."

"Or else?"

"I sort of blow-up everything I look at. Professor for instance has the power to read peoples thoughts and communicate telepathically."

"Huh?"

"_Like this child. It helps to save on phone bills and reach people out of range of other communication_."

"Wow I heard you in my head. Uh you don't read minds that don't want to be read...do you?"

"Neither the Professor nor myself would ever do that." a woman said standing next to Scott.

"And who is this cute little guy?" The red-headed teen asked.

"Jean Grey this is Logan's son Ran Okami. this is Jean Grey another one of my students and a telekinetic."

"Tel-e-what?"

"Telekinetic. I can move things with my mind."

"Wow that has to hurt. Wouldn't it be easier to just pick the think up with your hands than taking your brain out and having it lift it." It was at that time that three X-Men were introduced to the face fault.

"Why did we just do that?" Scott asked.

"No idea. I must have asked a really stupid question. Sorry."

"No need. But my brain doesn't come out of my head my friend. I can manipulate things with just my will using my mind. Like this." Jean then levitated Ran Okami a few inches off the ground then lets him down.

"That's cool! Just like master Yoda." Ran Okami smiled.

"Wait you know Star Wars, but you didn't know a hand shake?" Scott asked perplexed.

"Hey I just saw that movie a few weeks ago. Outside pops you're the first people I met from outside Japan." Ran Okami smirked.

"Oh. Well I didn't know that." Apparently foot in mouth disease is not exclusive to Ranmas.

"Hey Ran-chan there you are. I've been looking for you." Ukyo said hugging her adoptive brother.

"I though your name was Ran Ooookaami or something." Scott asked.

"First it's Okami, second chan is used for close friends, like a nickname. Since Ran Okami is my best buddy I call him Ran-chan."

"And I call her U-chan. This is Ukyo everyone. Ukyo meet pop's friends Professor X-ai-vier?" A nod confirmed the boy's uncertainty. "Scott and Jean."

"Hi. So how is that you know Mr. Logan?"

"Professor is sort of his boss and we're sort of their students right now." Scott answered finding it hard to explain it.

"Oh what style to you study?" Ukyo asked getting very interested.

"What?" Jean asked completely lost.

"Ms Ukyo what we teach isn't just martial arts, though basic self-defense is a necessity. What my students learn is how to help their fellow man with the gifts they have been given."

"Like school? Oh okay I didn't know that Mr. Logan was a teacher."

"He is, of sorts. He is also a near and dear friend of mine who has been an essential part of our team."

"So your like what? Soldiers or something." Ran Okami asked.

"More like superheroes. You know how Logan goes by the name Wolverine, well we also have names like that. Scott for instance goes by Cyclops, and Ms. Grey is Marvel Girl."

"Wow really. Can I join?" Ukyo asked. Being a martial artist was one thing, but to be a real superhero was far better.

"Perhaps. You see my dear the X-Men are very specific in the fact that we are all mutants, like Mr. Logan or your Ran-chan." Xavier said explaining as best he could while not hurting the girl's feelings.

"Oh, well then how do I know if I am a mutant?"

"Powers usually will develop when you are in your teens, but some show signs before that."

"Oh like my claws and healing and such? Okay. So are their others one your team?"

"Yes my dear. For instance Sunfire over there is a reserve member if need be, but since he has duties to his country here we do not call him all the time."

"That is so cool. Will I get to meet the rest of your team."

"Actually we will be living with them for some time U-chan." Nodoka smiled while having her arm draped over her Logan-kun's.

"Hello Auntie. What do mean live there?"

"Because I know that my beloved is a member of the X-Men he has responsibilities associated with it. It would be selfish of me to ask him to stop helping so many people just to remain here in this house." Nodoka explained.

"So were will we live?" Ran Okami asked. He didn't really care were it was so long as his family was with him.

"New York kid. This is going to be sort of our summer home, and base in the pacific if need be."

"Okay that sounds fun. But we still get to study with master Yoshi and Katsuhito right?" Ran Okami asked. A few lessons in ninjitstu and the Samari style and he was hooked.

"Whenever we are here they have said that they would love to teach you, so long as you keep getting good grades." Nodoka smiled. After all a warrior never truly stopped learning, and warriors were very manly men. "Your father also knows a few people who would love to train you as well."

"Wow cool."

"You two must really be into martial arts then." Jean smiled.

"Sure I'm going to be the best martial artist in the world, or at least the best boy martial artist."

Logan smirked at his son's antics. Oh he really liked this kid, maybe go by China again and see his "niece" Xan Pu and have Cologne help teach them. He was adopted into the clan after he saved the little girl's life from those Musk animal people a few years ago. Since then he had been sending and receiving letters occasionally from the girl saying how she was waiting to see him again, and to meet her new Aunt and cousins. Then there was Snake-eyes, about the only guy with less to say than Logan himself, but he also was one of the few people skilled enough to hold his own against the Wolverine in sparring, yea the kid would love to meet him. Sgt. Slaughter? Perhaps. If Cologne trained the little cub first then Slaughter would have to come-up with whole new training regimes for this team, and the look on Slaughter's face when he hears the idea of being hit by a boulder remediably as training? Priceless. But that would be much later. Logan had his new bride to think of first, and the plane tickets to Oahu scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. Being alone with this beloved for a whole month, dinner for two with the best the island had to offer, the sight of his bride in a string bikini, not having to worry about the kids for a whole month, the sight of his bride in a string bikini...all the important stuff.

"Logan I believe congratulations are in order." Professor X said happily to his comrade in arms. "And it is nice to see you happy as well Nodoka."

"It is always nice to see you Charles. I see that my Logan-kun will have his hands full teaching your new students. If I could be any help at all please ask."

"Why thank you Nodoka. I look forward to see you all at my home sometime later. I the mean time I will be enjoying myself before my students and I must leave."

"Nice meeting you two." Jean waved good bye as she and Scott went to get something to drink.

"The same to you sugar." Ukyo replied. "I get to hang out with superheroes? This is too good to be true." The little semi-tomboy said really looking forward to moving now.

To be continued in Chapter Four: Yoshi and Yosho

Author's notes:

Okay I changed the name again and this time I have had enough. I looked-up a English-Japanese dictionary and found that the translation was Ookami. Yet again I have been told it is wrong so I am now changing it back to Okami and it will not be changed again as it is getting annoying. Also it was asked why change his first name as it would be his family name that brings him more grief, you're right it wasn't for him so I changed chapter two so that it made more sense you will see the revision was posted at the same time as this chapter. Also I wanted to point out that after this chapter there will be a lot more action and drama to come, but I really didn't feel like ruining the wedding by having something like Sabertooth crash the party, too many heroes to wreck it and this follows the 90's show so Sabertooth is only known to Logan. I was also asked what type of TMNT I would be using, sorry that I couldn't really answer that question in this post, I will be giving hints in the next chapter believe me. Anyways I hope that you liked this and that you review this kindly.

(1) From Frank Herbert's Dune

(2) This is an aproximation of a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln altered in Nodoka's mind by time and possible mistranslation. This is not ment at all to insult the memory of one of the greatest leaders in my country's history only to show that she can't remeber the statement clearly.


	4. Chapter 4

Through the Years Chapter 4

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

Previously in Through the Years

Nodoka and Logan have been married and have left to go on a month long honeymoon in Hawaii. Meanwhile, their children Ran Okami Logan and Ukyo Kuonji are going to spend this time with the Masaki family shrine with their cousin Tenchi and his family. The son of Logan and Nodoka can not wait to continue training under his mentors Yoshi and Yosho.

The drive was a nice one, almost unbearably long but nice none the less for Tenchi's extended family members. Okay so Ran Okami was alternative between sleeping with his head on the window and twiddling his thumbs board out of his mind on this long trip. When he first met his real father he was pumped full of adrenaline from fear and anticipation, now he was hoping that this van actually would get them there.

"What did this thing have as an engine? A mouse on a running wheel?" Ran Okami mentally groaned from time to time. When they started this van up it made almost no sound, relatively speaking for his old man's jeep of course. With his animalistic hearing the young mutant heard the thing just fine, as compared with the phenomenal roar of his pop's ride. Out of sheer boredom he had used his claws to clean underneath his fingernails , and almost gave his uncle a heart attack doing so. It was a good thing that they had stopped for gas at the time, or their would be a serious traffic accident. Tenchi almost fainted at the sight of three sharp as steel, bone blades jutting out of his cousin's hands, and the fact that it seemed so natural to them both actually made the boy fall onto the ground. Ukyo's response to all this was quick and straight to the point.

"Ranchan you jackass you broke Tenchi." The heir to the Kuonji clan said stridently.

Now, however, things had once again become boring and dull. Reading was out of the question for two reasons. Number one: Ran Okami had finished reading all his books on martial arts, jets, cars, and dinosaurs (as all boys are fascinated by them) as well as his assigned reading for the summer. The later of this list had bored him to tears with little action (the one from America where the kid got stuck in the wilderness and only had a hatchet to rely on was beyond boring as he and his old man did the same thing on weekends as training), unrealistic plot (something to do with a hippo eating a teacher which he found insulting to his understanding of nature), and all those fairy tales with the big bad wolf? You shouldn't get him started with how the kids teased him in the neighborhood. Or they had until the main bully found himself with a broken nose and a sprained wrist from the pounding he was given. If he was wearing clean undies that day it didn't really make that much a difference back home. The second reason that reading was out of the question? He will never admit it to anyone but Ran Okami's one weakness is that he suffers from carsickness; he couldn't even read the texts inside those little bubbles that the comics have in the paper without spewing his guts out inside a car.

Ukyo was taking the trip in a different manner. She was cuddling next to her adoptive brother and resting her head on his shoulder when she could. Whenever she couldn't get close to him however, she'd pick-up her copy of Nancy Drew and wait until she could press herself to him again. It wasn't that she fantasized him as her husband-to-be, but rather she just liked the way it felt to hold him, and he made a pretty comfortable pillow. Ukyo wasn't as thrilled as her Ranchan at going to this Tenchi's place for a month as she wasn't sure if they had a TV or not out this far from civilization. Peace and quiet out in the wilds be what they may, she still wanted to watch her cartoons in the afternoon like she did every day after school and before training and homework. If anyone dared take that time away from her they would face the wrath of the heir to okonomiyaki style martial arts, or she would find that old telescope in the attic and watch it from that kid a few streets over. Sort of a nice guy after all and the two had a system that if she couldn't watch her shows he would leave the blinds open and let her watch his set. Ukyo just felt sorry to the guy sometimes that he was lactose intolerant so he couldn't eat any of her cooking. Well at least she had him to thank for introducing her to detective novels, but she couldn't for the life of her remember the guy's name. Oh well it wasn't important right now after all. Ranchan just woke-up so there was prime should space for her head; nap time.

Tenchi was just as bored as the others, he just didn't cope with it like they did. He was shy and recluse with most people and he just sat and would occasionally glance back and forth from the outside to the other two. He didn't feel like he should start anything between them as the last shock he got about his cousin almost knocked him out for the rest of the trip. Blades jutting out from one's arms, much less without pain? Then when he asked if they were sharp and Ran Okami sliced his finger and drew blood, or at least Tenchi though he drew blood. When the younger cousin tried to see the wound up-close it had healed already. Ran Okami just flecked off a few specks of red that Tenchi could swear looked brownish red like the edges of the scabs he would get. That couldn't be normal, heck he would almost put money on it that his cousin wasn't actually human like he was. Like the precision of German clockwork, Katsuhito and Achika sneezed. Meanwhile far in deep space, the princesses Ayeka and Sasami were wondering if it was pollen season.

Well Tenchi was sure that at least Ukyo seemed normal, or as normal as girls are to boys which is to say that the two sexes will never truly understand one another regardless of age. So Tenchi found himself completely out of his mind with boredom (ah the days long before the gameboy, how did kids survive car trips then?) and his travel games were just stupid. Really how many cars does one see out in these country roads to fill out these blank spaces? The last one was about thirty minutes ago and it was at the gas station. The last human they had even seen was those workers in the field. Did everyone leave this island to go to Hawaii for vacation? Tenchi didn't know, but he suspected that he wouldn't be doing much until they got to the city limits of the shrine. So what did he decide to do? Tenchi just started doodling on the back of the activity book and prayed for time to speed up.

It was about a half-hour before anyone spoke, but when the silence actually was broken it was liken to a God-send. "Okay everyone where here." Noboyuke said pulling up to the gate. The wooden structure looked like it could use a fresh coat of paint, but at least it wasn't rotting out like a few of the houses that Ran Okami had seen on the way.

"Wow Ranchan this is beautiful. I bet we can really have fun out in those woods." Ukyo smiled while hugging her brother. She had already lost one family and she wasn't going to let go of about the only stable thing in her life.

"Well I don't know. I mean there could be wild animals out there that could be dangerous you guys." Tenchi said hopping out of the side of the van.

"Oh come on cuz, this is Japan for crying out loud. What the heck kind of animal could be dangerous around here?"

"You are correct Ran Okami. There are no dangerous animals around here, but there are more dangers than ravenous predators around here." Katsuhito replied behind them. The response was instantaneous from Ukyo and Tenchi.

"Ah don't do that!" The Jurian prince-to-be said after doing his best impression of Rocket J. Squirrel and landing on his face. Ukyo on the other hand turned around too fast and tripped inside her spin landing flat on her butt.

"Ouch that's smarts."

"Forgive me young one but why weren't you shocked at my entrance?" The head of the shrine asked.

"Because you are standing upwind of me sir." Ran Okami respectfully answered his mentor.

"Ah, well I think that I would have to remember that for later. Right now would you and Tenchi help get the bags, I think that your uncle needs a minute to recover from the long drive."

"Katsuhito-sensi if it isn't too much can I ask you why you didn't take a turn at the wheel?" Ran Okami asked.

"It's simple really…I can't drive." Now Ran Okami was staring at a peculiar little ladybug, while his face was smacked down in the dirt. "Now I will be up at the shrine waiting for my friend Yoshi to call and say he arrived home safe and sound. If you get the van unpacked before I return I may be able to give you a lesson before we go to bed. It was unclear who was faster…Ran Okami or Ukyo. Tenchi was just in shock about the whole thing. Was this the result of training, or was it a motivational thing? He just scratched his head out of having no clue.

"And I think it is unfair for your cousins to do all the work." Tenchi never did figure out how he wound up in the living room with his travel bag and activity set, but he never wanted to ask.

"Hey cuz put that stuff down and give me a hand here." a young male voice said while holding a large suitcase.

"Ah sure what do you need?" Tenchi asked wonder how in the heck his cousin was so strong, no normal boy his age could lift his mom's traveling case.

"Just grab the other side and help me walk it to your parent's room. I don't want to drag it there." the young Logan's face was very red and looked for all the world like he was straining to just pick the thing up.

"Sure." Damn thing was heavy.

"Man what did your mom put in this? Rocks?" Ran Okami asked as the two slowly trudged towards the stairs.

"Ah you boy's didn't have to do that. Here let me help." Tenchi's mom said lifting it up easily and headed up the stairs while leaving an exasperated pair of boys in the foyer.

"How did she do that?" Tenchi asked, oh yea he defiantly needed to start weight training. How could a woman get so strong? Ryoko sneezed at that moment wondering when in the hell she was going to get out of this damn prison. Cologne wiped her nose with a tissue before she got back to considering if Xan Pu was old enough to learn the Breaking Point Technique just yet, as well as if it was hay fever season again. Damn allergies.

"Why are you asking me? She's your mom." Ran Okami said while he was shaking his arms trying to get blood to flow back into them while the numb tingling sensation was wearing off.

"HEY YOU TWO A LITTLE HELP!" Ukyo cried while holding all of their cloth's bags on her back looking very much like a turtle at that point.

"Oh sorry U-chan let me help." Ah the concern of a brother, never underestimate it's power. Ukyo just relaxed while her Ranchan held one bag and reached for another.

"You okay Ukyo?" Tenchi asked while the girl's face went back to a less red tent.

"Oh yea sugar. Just need to get this to our rooms."

It took about fifteen minutes to get the whole van unpacked. And impressive feat for three kids who aren't even ten yet. And what did they get for all their hard work? A homemade meal, a chance to stretch their legs, and the sight of the largest big screen TV they had seen.

"We have just seen the promised land." Ukyo said trying not to just let her jaw drop to the floor. It was only a few feet, but she didn't think she could clean up all the drool.

"Wow. I wonder if they have anything good on?" Ran Okami said hitting the power button on the remote.

"_In world news today the terrorist organization known as Cobra attempted to destroy the world by releasing a computer virus which would destroy all communication's systems around the world. They were defeated by America's new special force know as G.I.Joe. More as this develops_." the news ancorman said in a very monotone voice.

"Borring." All three said while looking for something more entertaining.

"_This is a story about a man named Brady who had…_"

"Next." Ukyo said while getting some popcorn. Family shows like that were boring. It was neither funny nor action-packed so it was boring. Then next three channels were the same thing. Fortuanatly there was a final channel.

"_Bond, James Bond_."

"Yes finally." Tenchi said he loved watching James Bond films surprising enough, but that was mostly because of the shooting, car chases, and the exotic locations around the world that he got to see. Ukyo was just staring at Sean Connery at the card table and Ran Okami, well he liked how it kept you guessing what was going on.

"Ah From Russia with Love. Good movie, better book." an aged voice said behind their backs. This finally got the intended result of all three launching themselves into the air. "Of course this could become Moon Raker in a moment."

"Why did you do that?" Ukyo asked while taking the popcorn bucket off her head. Damn waste of a good movie snack.

Katsuhito just closed he eyes and turned his head towards the ceiling. "I just thought you would like to know that Yoshi just called and he will be able to start teaching you again tomorrow Ran Okami. Tenchi you will be training too, but I will start you on the ways of the Masaki style. In the afternoon Ran Okami will be joining us."

"So what do I do?" Ukyo asked being very perplexed about the whole thing.

"Yoshi wanted to say you are welcome to join your brother, provided that you leave the spatula at home as it will be unarmed combat and stealth training." At first Ukyo was going to relent, but she realized that if she wanted to be with her Ranchan she would have to relent. "Armed combat will be in the afternoon with me anyway and it doesn't make sense to take that thing all the way to the dogo then all the way back. Now I will be getting some more popcorn and we can enjoy the movie together." Katsuhito smirk. It was fun to play with kids minds.

As the sun rose over the hills behind the house, two children where seen leaving heading towards the training ground of the Foot clan. As they walked down the dirt path, the third kid in the house waved them on.

"Excuse me grandpa, but why is it that you didn't want me to join them? I mean is there something wrong with learning ninjitsu?" Tenchi asked.

"Absolutely not. Yoshi is a dear friend of mine and perhaps later you can learn a thing or two from him, but you are the heir of my sword style and as such must perfect it as your mother has. You see Tenchi even though your cousins may learn from me, they will never learn all of my style, nor do they have to bear the weight you will have to carry as my heir. Do you understand?"

"I guess grandpa, it's just I want to spend time with them, that's all."

"Of course you would. They are not only family, they are also your friends. This is something that makes life more bearable. Now come we must start your training."

At the Foot dogo, Master Yoshi is meditating deeply in his office. His purple robes are neatly dressed and his black hair cut neatly. The swirls of burning incense fill the room as the ninja master begins his morning prayers. This time of relaxation and though allowed the man prepare for the day as well as ease his spirit when it was in trouble. Soon he would be joined with the young Logan children and would begin their teaching. It was different from teaching Nodoka, as these two were to be his first true students, along with a troubled young man name Oroku Saki whom Yoshi hoped would be changed by the goodness he saw in both of the other children. Effortlessly rising from his position, Yoshi snuffed out each of the burning sticks as to not cause a fire later. He turned to the main training ground and flipped on the light switch. Electricity was far better than the old lamps they had used. Not only was it safer, but if need be he could turn them all off and force his students to deal with fighting and training in absolute darkness. It had taken a long time to build the other what he called "instant night" devices which would block out any light from the room so even in day they could train in stealth if the evening was booked. A smile crossed his lips when he remembered how Mr. Macoy had engineered this as his master's project, and that the mutant had given the ninja those poetry and art books from around the world. Regardless of his code-name it was obvious that Beast was quite a refined individual with impeccable taste.

"Yoshi-Sensei I am sorry if we are late." Ran Okami bowed along with his sister.

"Not at all my student you are exactly on time. And I see that you got my message Ukyo, don't worry I can understand about your love of your family style, but you don't need anything more than the gi you are wearing and yourself for today."

"Yes Yoshi-Sensei I can understand." The girl said.

"Very good. Please come in we will begin as soon as my other student arrives."

"Other student sensei?" Ran Okami asked. Surely Tenchi was back at the shrine.

"Yes. It seems that a master of the Foot style has a son that he asked me to teach. This man believed that it would be good experience for me and his son as I do not have many students of my own. Do not worry I am sure it will be okay."

"Yes sensei."

"I believe he is here now."

The young Oroku Saki bore a sneer across his face and had a very cold dissposition to him. His father wasn't that better. The older man gave off a feeling of such coldness that one could almost feel the air chill as he walked to the dogo."

"Oroku-san it is very nice to see you."

"As it is you Yoshi-san. This is my son whom I know will be a good student as you are a master." The child bowed before the master of the dogo and rose.

"And whom are these two children?"

"They are Ran Okami and Ukyo, My two other students and the children of Nodoka."

"Ah I see. It is good to know that my son will not be training alone then. I will be back to retrieve my son in the evening. Till then Saki you shall obey your teacher without delay."

"Yes father." The elder Oroku family member left to go about his business, while his son stared at his fellow students. Ukyo was very cute, and obviously a pureblooded Japanese girl from this look. Ran Okami however, something was off. For all he could see the boy was a normal Japanese male of good breeding if what he knew of Nodoka's family was right. But the boy's eyes were off. Blue eyes are not normal for most Japanese, but other than that…in any case Oroku Saki was bound to show these two that he was going to be the best ninja, though he was sure that they would be worthy training partners.

"Now my students we shall start with agility training today. This is far more important to a ninja that actually combat."

"Why is that sensei?" Ukyo asked.

"Because if an opponent can not hit you he can not harm you. Ninja's do not stand in file and fight exposed. What we do instead is exploit the weaknesses of openness so that are foes do not expect us."

"Now we shall start with back flips. I will show you how to do them then you shall each perform twenty of them before we move on." It was going to be a very long day indeed.

It was about two in the afternoon before they were dismissed from the dogo. Oroku Saki could not believe how tired he was, though he had impressed his master with his natural ability to ninjitsu. And why shouldn't he. Was he not the son of one of the great masters of the Foot Clan? But what shocked him is that he could not excel over his other students. For everything he did he could not overwhelm either Ukyo or Ran Okami in skill. It was impossible but they were his equals and sometimes superiors. Clearly they had been training before all three met at the dogo. If he was to be the master of the Foot clan, then Saki would have to be far better than he was.

Ran Okami, for some curious reason, was walking along the top of the fence line with a natural grace and easiness as he and Ukyo headed back to the shrine, having long said goodbye to that Saki kid, and glad of it.

"Hey U-chan?"

"Yes Ranchan?" Ukyo anwered, swearing that tomorrow she was going to wear pants so she could do that fence thing too.

"You get a weird vibe off that Saki kid?"

"You mean the one where he and his father feel like they could freeze water? Yep."

"Thought so. Anyway I was just asking….Hold up do you smell that?"

"Smell what Ranchan? The bread from the baker or the meat seller's store. That barbacue does smell good though."

"No not that. I smell blood. Fresh blood too. Come on." Ran Okami lept to the roof top then bounded from house to house following the trail.

"Damn it Ranchan I hate it when you do that." Ukyo said following suite, and praying that no perv looked up her dress. Ukyo was panting when she landing on the ground. How the heck did her brother do this? It wasn't humanly possible after the hours of training they did. "Hey…Ranchan…wait-up okay?" She nearly fell only the light post next to her, but instead used it to prop herself up.

"U-chan look." In Ran Okami's hands was a small wounded animal. A tiny rat that couldn't have possible been fully grown.

"Ah poor thing." The little creature was bleeding from his side where a cat had probably gotten it but he got away, only to be dying from blood loss.

"Ukyo hold him please I'm going to try something." The young mutant gently placed the rat in Ukyo's awaiting hands. It may have been wonded and deseased, but Ukyo was going to risk it. Wondering for a moment what her brother intended to do, Ran Okami exposed one of his bone claws and sliced a little off his belt. Gently he tied the make-shift bandage on his little friend and tighed it before they ran back to the dogo as fast as they could. Not even seeing the letters on the animal's leg: NIMH.

Panting harder than they thought they could, the two arrived at the dogo in record time.

"Ran Okami, Ukyo what are you doing back here?" Yoshi asked at the door.

"Sensei he was wounded and we didn't know where to take him? Please help?" Ukyo's pleading cry was answered when Yoshi took the rat in his hands and led them back into the dogo.

"You two have good hearts. Please get my first-aid kit immediately." Yoshi said as the children ran to the bathroom.

It was an entince time for them, but the rat pulled through. Ran Okami named it Splinter because they had to set the bandage in place with wooden splints on either side of the body.

"Now you two go wash up and I will call the shrine and tell them about the delay." Yoshi said as he smiled at his new friend. "Do not worry Splinter, you are safe now."

The little rodent's breathing was labored, but it didn't seem afraid of this man. Was this man different from the others? It couldn't be, all men were evil and had been his tormentors. Yet this one and the children had shown it kindness, tenderness. They cared about his health and his safety. Not once in the girl's hands did he feel threatened. They had saved his life and brought him here, to this kind man, even given him a name. The rat wondered what other things he would learn from this man. If these humans had learned kindness, surely there must be more.

In the weeks that the Logan children stayed they're skills grew like kudzu in Alabama. Right now Ran Okami was throwing and blocking attacks with Oroku Saki while Ukyo was using her spatula against Tenchi's wooden sword at the shrine.

"It is impressive how quickly they learn is it not?" Yoshi smiled while holding Splinter in a small cage. Inside it would appear to all the world that the rat was actually mimicking the movements of the children as he thrust his hand forward and moved his legs, unseen except by Yosho and Katsuhito.

Indeed my friend. I would have to say that they are born warriors. A pity that we will only see Logan's children occasionally. I would love to see them progress in person.

"True, but they must live their own lives, though I can be assured that his son will be pushing himself just as hard under Logan's other friends."

"Quite right. Tell me, have you been able to change the young Saki's heart any? He seems so distant and cold."

"No my friend I am sorry. I dare say that unfortunately he is as much his father's son as Ran Okami."

"A pity indeed." Katsuhito said scratching his chin. "I fear for that young boy. It is not a good path he will follow." Focus in on Saki performing a spin kick intended for Ran Okami's head. It misses as the mutant drops and tries to take his opponent down by tripping him. Both continue this long into the afternoon.

When the month came to a close, Ran Okami and Ukyo had to prepare to say goodbye to their cousin and his family. Goodbyes are never easy.

"Hey cuz I just wanted to say that It's been fun." Ran Okami said as he and Tenchi looked out at the stars over the lake. Ukyo was busy eating an ice-cream cone while walking along the shoreline and occasionally wiping the stuff off her nose.

"Well it was different that was sure. You going to visit sometimes?" The younger cousin asked tenitively.

"Absolutely. I mean this is a great place to hang out sometimes. The woods are so full of life sometimes that I can't help but feel at home here. Uncle and Antie have been great too, not to mention I love to train here." Ran Okami said lying on his back. This was such a nice place to live. Too bad that Tenchi was going to be living in the city soon once their house was built, but that was their business.

"I know. I just don't know if we'll like it in the city, I mean I don't know anyone there or anything…"

"Don't sweat it. I mean if they don't like you then big whoop. I had to deal with that for a while before my parents got married so I understand." Both chucked at that.

"Good point. You will write of course when your in New York right?"

"Of course I will. I mean you're the closest I have to a brother so I'll tell you everything about the place."

"What about Ukyo?"

"She's my sister, or have you forgotten that." Ran Okami knocked Tenchi in the back of the head with his palm.

"But didn't you say you thought she was a guy at first?"

"Yea, but that was a long time ago. She's my sister and so she isn't the next thing to a brother."

"I guess that makes sense. Hey you ever wonder what's in that cave near the shrine?"

"Nope. They said don't mess with it I don't mess with it. There is something odd about it, but I don't want to be the one who unleashes a 'demon' anyway."

"Yea, but I just get pulled to that thing. I don't know it just seems to call me."

"Well that's your problem then. If you do happen to unleash a demon then it's going to be on your head not mine." Ran Okami said popping his knuckles and stretching. "Well if there's nothing else then I'll be going to bed. I can't wait to see mom and pops again."

"You just want to know what they got you from their trip." Tenchi joked. This led to an impromptu training session between the two.

To be continued.

Next Chapter: Home is where the heart is, or at least where the heart of rock and roll is a beat'n

Authors notes: Okay another chapter down and hoping that people liked it. Before anyone asks me this: No there will not be any more NIMH crossover. I just used it because I couldn't think of any other way that Splinter would be able to be smart enough to copy and remember Yoshi's training. As far as the books listed earlier, regardless of who likes them or not Ran Okami didn't like them regardless if you did he didn't so it's just his opinion as revealed by this author. Also, I just finished looking up the end to the Tenchi Muyo series (not universe or Tenchi in Tokyo) and I can't believe how stupid some things were in it, such as Tenchi's mom just leaving him? That sickened me that a mother would just leave her child like that and go off to do whatever she wanted. No wonder Tenchi has issues. Well forget that in this fic. I can understand if she died when Tenchi was young, but after seeing what Nodoka had to endure with Genma, then finally being able to love Logan there is no way that I could ever allow Achika to just leave Tenchi. No wonder the guy has attachment issues. The reason that he never got close to the girls isn't that he's gay, it's that the just can't get close to any woman because he mom just abandoned him. Not in this fic, not going to happen. Another thing that will be different that I have no problem revealing is that Kiyone will be making an appearance, how much I don't know but she is alive and well here. Also Ran Okami will not be falling into any cursed pools, but there will be something just as traumatic in that part of his life, but it's not a pool bassed curse. There will be a member of his family that does fall into a pool, but I'm not telling who or what pool it is. Hope you all liked this.


	5. Chapter 5

Through the Years Chapter 5

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

Previously in Through the Years

Ran Okami Logan and his sister Ukyo had just spent a month at the Musaki residence training alongside their cousin Tenchi under Masters Yoshi and Katsuhito while their parents Logan and Nodoka enjoyed their honeymoon in Hawaii. Now we find the Logan family arriving at the X-Mansion and looking forward to this new stage in their lives, or at least some are...

"Couldn't we have waited until after we learned at least one special move?" Ran Okami groaned displeased at his lack of mastering either the Foot Ninjitsu Style or the Masaki School of Swordsmanship.

"Son I know how much you like to train yourself, but the world does not always go the way we want to." Nodoka corrected her son. "And it isn't as if they won't get an opportunity to train you later, not to mention you will have plenty of opportunities to learn from other martial artists soon enough. Right now your responsibility will be to help your father train his students and to do well in your own studies."

"Yes mom." Ran Okami groaned, and he was just about to learn how to do that disappearing in a cloud of smoke thing too.

"Now don't take that tone with me young man. I understand that you are upset, but that is no reason to act like that." Nodoka responded stridently. "And I know for a fact that you will have more that enough training to deal with under your father. Now that will be the end of that."

Nodoka took a deep breath and calmed herself before continuing.

"Now the two of you will be on your best behavior from now on. Even though this may be our home for a long time it is Professor Xavier's house and I will not have either one of you embarrassing me here."

"Yes mom."

"Yes Auntie." Ukyo really wasn't paying that much attention to what was being said to be honest. What really got her attention was the scenery they passed by while heading towards the mansion grounds. The long winding country roads of the New York countryside had such a different look to them than those she had grown up with in Japan that she was fixated with looking out the window.

"Very good. Now Logan how much long is it to Charles'? It has been so long since I have been here that I have forgotten."

"Not too long darlin'." Logan said after taking the cigar out of his mouth for a moment.

"Only about five more minutes before we turn onto the driveway." Logan then went back to enjoying his piece of tobacco after tapping the end off outside the window.

"I think that Ukyo wouldn't mind if it was longer though dear." Nodoka chuckled slightly.

Meanwhile a distance away from the travelers, a group of about six individuals were "joyfully" awaiting the arrival of their new teacher and fellow students.

"Good grief how long does it take to get from Japan?" Bobby Drake groaned while trying to finish his summer reading one week before his classes started. Okay so he was really trying to sneak off and make an ice-cream treat for himself while no one noticed, but he did look like he was reading with the book in front of him.

"Taking into account the time zone change, variation in air density as related to altitude, the time needed for the change in jet of both person and cargo, not to mention negating possible weather delays or laziness of ground crew, then there is the variable of..."

"Okay Beast I think that Bobby got the idea, now your making my head hurt." Angel said grabbing his head in psuedopain.

"Perhaps, but I would think that it would have been a good idea to give a complete list of the variables necessary to calculate such a problem. However if he can read a book upside down then there may be may be more gifted than he is letting us know." Beast chuckled.

"What are you talking about Hank?" Bobby asked completely baffled. Beast responded by turning over the book in Iceman's hands and revealed that he was actually trying to read, as Beast had said, upside-down.

"Oh." This realization made Bobby do an impersonation of an ice statue, rather than an iceman.

"Hank stop picking on Bobby. We have all be a little on the edge with only a few days more of summer before we start classes again." Jean said peacefully.

"Now Jean don't go worrying about the ice-cube; if you are really upset about school starting soon then how about you and I go out to get drinks and a burger, what do you say?"

"Well Warren that would be nice..."

"Then come on." Angel smiled why trying to pull the young redhead to his car and out to the town.

"Now hold up and let me finish I have to help Professor Xavier get the welcome home meal ready." Jean said pulling herself free of the older mutant and trying to be polite as possible. "If you don't have anything else to do, why don't you help Scott with the decorations."

"Oh come on Jean that guy to so stuck in the mud that he's practically buried, why would I want to be around anyone like that?"

"Because I am your field commander and I say I need help so come on Warren." Scott yelled from down the hall.

"Oh really, and what are you going to do if I say no...'field commander'?" Angel responded smugly. Scott turned his head and flashed his visor at Warren's direction.

"_Warren I think that Scott requires your aid in the front, Jean if you would be so kind as to help with preparing the meal_." Professor Xavier mentally requested from some unknown location.

"If you would require my aid Jean I would be more than welcome to help you." Beast smiled as he and the shorter mutant left the room to avoid a conflict.

"Well Warren what are you waiting for give me a hand with these decorations." Scott called from the other room.

"If I must." Angel accepted defeat, and barley accepted Bobby's stifled laughter.

Changing the scenery for a moment we find Logan leading the way to the front of the mansion and...

"Hey any of you bub's here?" Logan pushed open the door and knocked Scott flat on his ass.

"Ouch. Hey watch it will you."

"Watch yourself kid, and what in the heck were you doing behind the door in the first place?" Logan smirked while dropping the last part of his cigar on the stone patio and crushing it with the heal of his boot. Ran Okami just helped Scott to his feet.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Well that was brilliant oh 'field commander'." Warren laughed while flying cycles in the air.

"Who's that flying yahoo?" Ukyo asked while making sure not to overuse the word

"jackass" because she had been getting in trouble for it. recently.

"Ukyo, Ran Okami meet Warren, one of my fellow X-Men."

"That's Warren Warrington the Third to you Scott, but you can call me Angel." He smiled while landing.

"Let me guess the wings right?" Ukyo asked. "Because I thought it was because you are being a Devine pain in the neck." Scott nearly fell on his back because of that. Logan just smirked at his adopted daughter, which was the same response as Ran Okami's. Nodoka was not so pleased.

"Now young lady that wasn't polite. Apologize this instant."

"Yes Auntie." Ukyo sighed. "Sorry Warren."

"It's okay. I can't stay angry at a girl as cute as you for too long." Warren smiled.

"Okay to now that the peanut gallery is done, what's going on around here?"

"It is an end of summer, welcome back party we were trying to have for you. Though we kind of ran out of time and Jean is in the kitchen trying to get dinner ready and..." Scott did not have time to complete his thoughts as the vortex created by both Ukyo and Nodoka running to Jean's aid nearly swept him, Logan, Warren, and Ran Okami off their feet.

"Are you sure that your wife doesn't have super-speed Logan." Scott asked.

"No, just super cooking skills." Logan replied. "Better get ready for a big meal kids, you'll need it for tomorrow." Logan smirked.

"Great more training." Ran Okami smiled, Scott and Warren groaned.

"Is that kid insane?" Warren asked.

"No, but he is Logan's kid."

"Great, now there is two of them." Angel threw his head into his hands in defeat.

In the kitchen Jean and Beast found themselves in the presents of two familiar faces whose owners were moving at such a frightening speed that both felt they would be tossed by the wayside in a moment's notice.

"My word they cook fast." Beast said in mild shock.

"Yes, but that if from years of practice and precise timing Macoy-san." Nodoka said as she had Jean gathering odd spices and other material for a feast.

"It's not that I don't appreciate the help but..."

"Now Grey-san it would be rude of us not to help, besides I don't think that you would have time to make anything by dinner from such a starting time, even with the help you have."

"Besides we'll also help with the dishes. Now please pass me the tomato sauce." Ukyo smiled. The future head of the Kuonji style of martial arts was not going to present anything but the best for her hosts.

The main feast was a delightful occasion, as Nodoka's presents had prevented at least one food fight, perhaps more. In the end Logan took his son outside for a talk.

"Okay kid listen to your old man for a moment. I need you to help teach these guys a few lessons in actual combat and tracking, you game?"

"Always pops."

"Good. Now before we go to bed the two of us have a few surprises to make for them."

Logan chuckled, the next day was going to be good as they spent the next few hours setting up the woods for the next morning.

For now we shall leave the peace and quite of the X-Mansion for the training halls of Japan. A restless Oroko Saki is completely unaware of the hour as he pours forth all the strenght that his little body can muster in an attempt to become better than the only one he considers a rival, Ran Okami. But the efforts of such battlement internal as well as ex do not go unnoticed.

"Saki what are you doing up at this hour?" Hamato Yoshi asks as he walks into the room of his remaining student.

"I am practising oh great master. I am sorry if I awoke you from your slumber." an embarised Oroko Saki bows his head to the Foot sensei.

"Practising is one thing, but please go to bed. You are pushing yourself hard enough in your daily practise that you do not need to do this."

"But master I must become better. Ran Okami defeated me in all our sparing sessions and I can not let myself be defeated so easily. I must force myself to become better."

"My student what you want to do is noble, but it would be better to rest and resume your battles in the morning. I do not wish to explain to your father why you are tired all the time and why your school work is sliping."

"But master I can not let myself fall in my art. I must prove myself to by worthy foe."

"Is that how you see Ran Okami? A worthy foe you wish to face and prove yourself his better?"

"Master is there something that you are not telling me? I can not understand how someone my own age could defeat me every time we fight. If you know his secret I implore you to tell me." The Shredder to be begged.

"Saki do not think such things. You are a warrior of the Foot clan, and have a right to hold your family and art is such high regard. There are no secrets in the training or special benifits I have shown your fellow student."

"Is it something to do with his father then? I have seen his mother, but is his father some great warrior too?"

"Yes he is, but do not go looking for him as they have moved. His a teacher who can not be separated from his students for too long, just as I and you can not part. Nor the growing class I have."

"How did he become a warrior then? Was he a soldier or something?"

"Yes he has fought in many wars, and has faced many a dark foe in battle. But do not ask me this at this hour. Go to bed and rest. A weary mind and body will make for a poor ninja." Hamato Yoshi said hurring Oroko Saki to his home before revealing the secrets of a close friend. As they walk down the street the viewers vision goes black.

As the color once again returns to the views, we behold a foggy New England morning at around 5:30 with a gang of six people standing in the middle of a field at the edge of the woods. Only one of these people actually looked like he wasn't out of some blood-feast zombie movie. Logan had a cigar clenched between his teeth and his signature smirk gracing his lips. The younger mutants were lucky to have their eyes open at this hour.

"Okay you little punks, summers over and class is back in session. For your first day you get the privilege of a seeing which one of you can find my son in those woods before he finds you.(1)" Logan used his thumb to point over his shoulder. "Now you have three and a half hours to do it. The one who can doesn't have to see me after your classes with Beast for your afternoon work out. Oh and one last thing... no powers."

"How hard is it going to be to find one little kid." Bobby joked. Scott and Jean were wondering what in the Hell he had done to earn himself such a fate.

"What about physical mutations?" Angel asked.

"They won't do you any good, so go ahead featherbrain. The clock starts now bubs, so I suggest you get moving." Logan walked off to the mansion to work out with his wife before breakfast.

"You heard the man team. Lets go." Scott said. "Jean you take...Ukyo what are you doing here?"

"Morning workout what does it look like? What just because I don't have a superpower means I'm exempt?"

"Knowing Logan...Okay you and Iceman head towards the left and right sides, Angel you fly around behind and try to push him towards the front. Jean you take the front while Ukyo and I try to flush him out. Everyone got it?"

"Okay Cyclops. Everyone keep in constant communication."

As they all rushed into the forest, a small group of leaves on the ground moved ever so slightly and silently that you wouldn't notice it.

"Anything Angel?" Iceman radioed.

"Nothing. Can't see a thing in these trees. I'm going in to take a closer look." As angel gracefully arced downward into the forest he thought that he saw a blur of motion from the corner of his eye, but ignored it. He didn't get far when the grouping of trees forced him to land.

"Ukyo you got anything?" Jean asked over the com unit.

"Nothing yet sugar, but I wouldn't think that we would yet."

"Okay team take positions, I want you to.." Scott was about to give his orders when a loud cry was heard from his team mate.

"Hey what the.." A hard smack is heard as Iceman found himself slammed against the trunk of a tree by someone who through him over his back and was out like a light.

"Iceman?" Jean asked as she walked up to Bobby dangling upside-down on a tree tied by rope. "You okay Iceman."

"Yea, now get me down okay, all the blood is rushing to my head."

"Okay chill will you." Jean said before bursting into a bout of giggles. "Iceman chill..."

"Yea yea real funny, now if it's not to much...Ouch." The logic of a head injury is said to be the best, except that in this case the head injury is one in which you fall from three feet onto a tree limb, then flat on your face."

"Well I guess that means that you are out of the competition, but where did he get off to?"

"I have no idea. I didn't even see him attack me."

"Great." Jean sighed. "You head back to the mansion and relax, I have a wolf to catch."

"Say what?"

"Ran Okami, it means...oh never mind I'll tell you later." Jean ran off activating the com unit on her chest. "Scott we got a problem."

"Tell me something I don't know. I feel like we're in the freaking Predator movie."

"Iceman's out of the game, tell you about it later. Have you seen Angel or Ukyo?"

"Both of us are still here Jean. Any idea where my Ranchan ran off to?"

"No, Iceman didn't even see him."

"Figures."

As Angel tried to take an airborne approach, the bounding figure of a human, or in this case mutant, glanced past his left peripheral vision going tree limb to tree limb.

"Okay I got you know you little jerk." Angel smiled as he launched himself towards his target, only to find that said target is nowhere in sight. "How did he do that?" Angel asked hovering in midair.

"You mean this." Ran Okami responded by dropping himself on an above branch and swing kicking the other mutant in the gut and knocking him out of the sky. "Two down and three to go." Wild Wolf smiled dropping out of sight yet again.

"You got that Scott?"

"Yea Angel left his com unit on. That makes it three to one..."

"Yea and his favor sugar."

"Ukyo any idea how to catch this guy?"

"Working on it sugar. He's using the fact that we are all separated to take us down one by one. Angel and Bobby were upwind of him so he was able smell them out and likely also heard Angel's wing beats so he went above as fast as he could to stop him from revealing his location. Scott you and Jean stay together; I have an idea."

"You mind filling us in?" Jean asked.

"With his super-hearing? No dice." Ukyo cut off communications and drew her battle spatula.

"Great. Jean you find me and try not to be seen."

"What do you think I am a ninja?"

"No I think that...WOO! Jean change of plans stay put."

"What happened?

"I got snared."

"Oh great. Scott I'm headed back for you." Jean sighed this morning couldn't get any worse, cancel that it did, and it was in the form of a taught vine stretched between two trees.

"Sorry about that Jean." Ran Okami said holding one end of the rope.

"Why you little..." Ah and irate red-head definitely not what you want around you.

"Hey don't get mad, I beat you far and square." Ran Okami said waving his hands in front

of his face and having that anime sweatdrop at the back of his head.

"Now if you will excuse me I have to see Scott."

"I can't believe I was defeated by a kid." Jean pounded the ground for a moment. This little jerk made her feel like an amateur.

But changing back to Scott for a moment.

"Hey Scott."

"Okay Ran Okami you win, now get me down from here."

"Sure." A few leaps and the son of Logan was standing above his fellow X-Man with his claws extended.

"Hey wait a moment here.."

"Don't worry I'll catch your rope." With an effortless motion Ran Okami sliced the rope, grabbed the severed end and dropped down with Cyclops on the other side of the tree branch so Scott was up the tree and the victor on the ground.

"You have got to show me how you did that." Scott said taking the rope off his ankles.

"Well that leaves only Ukyo, and hello to you."

"Darn it Ranchan I'm standing down wind and didn't make a sound."

"Down wind for the ground. I smelled you up in the tree."

"No you didn't jackass."

"Yes I did. And you can't say different."

"Oh really?" Ukyo smiled while twisting a throwing spatula in her fingers.

"Now Uchan..."

"Come on Ranchan, you me, one on one, no claws or any other blades."

"Just hand to hand?" Ran Okami asked. "Sure victor gets to say who won."

Scott gazed transfixed at how fast and effortlessly the two battled. The young X-Man had no idea that anyone could do those things with ones own body as a weapon. I mean those movies were just fiction right?

"Break it up, times up." Logan called after about twenty minutes with no victor in sight.

"Ah darn it, and I was just about to clean his clock too." Ukyo pouted.

"Break it up the two of you. Breakfast will be ready in thirty and I don't like to keep my

No-chan waiting." Logan growled.

"Yes sir." The both said.

"Okay all of you get out of there and hit the showers."

"Hey pops how'd I do?"

"Aces kid, now you get a reward for that?"

"Hey now."

"The two of you for lasting so long, and having a make-shift sparing contest at the end get a special treat from me before breakfast."

"Okay...what is it." Ran Okami asked, and found himself doing laps around the mansion with weighted cloths and a relatively huge rucksack on his back right next to his sister as they were falling behind their father.

"Keep it up you two three more laps and we can call it a day."

"Yea...pant got it pops..."

"Yes...huhhuh ...Logan-san."

"You know, that almost makes what we just did seem worth it." Bobby joked eating his pancakes.

"Oh Drake-san I think that you are in for a slight surprise, that is what my Logan-kun is planing for you this afternoon." The color drained from Drake's face at that. "He just thought that those two did so well that they could take care of it in the morning and have the afternoon to themselves. My son is so manly." Nodoka cheered.

"I am really not looking forward to this evening." Scott said, and most agreed.

Next time in Through the Years: Ran Okami deals with a new school, new training partners, and learns what it is like to be a true member of the X-Men.

(1) thanks to Paver83 for the idea

Authors notes: Thank you everyone who has been a fan of this series and has awaited the next posting of this fic. I am sorry to have delayed it but I have been without a working personal computer for the last month with a fried motherboard and have had it replaced twice already. The problem is that there is a known compatibility issue which the company holding the warranty for my computer between the motherboards and the Windows system. This is not something which I can do anything about and they have one last try before they give me a new computer because it has been out of service for about a month now. Also my updates may be eratic for the next month or so because I will be on field expeditions for the next five weeks and out of town for the first two weeks in June.


	6. Chapter 6

Through the Years Chapter 6

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

Time is said to be an illusion created by the gradual alteration of energy into a state of entropy. Whoever said this did not have to deal with one of Beast's mathematics classes. We see our old hero Ran Okami with a two thousand foot stare at the board only about seven feet away from his desk. Let it not be said that this is due to some predestined situation in which Ranmas are only dumb jocks with applications only for martial arts; in fact Ran Okami is quite intelligent and has the ability to apply himself to any challenge he faces. But he is no super-genius and he doesn't like to do math problems.

"When does this end?" The young mutant groaned as he tried to fill his eight-year-old mind with something to drive the pain of the lesson from his mind. But this was the price he had to pay for going to this school; constant tutoring for home schooling tests because there wasn't a single grade school around for miles, not to mention that his mother was adamant that he should be pushed beyond what was the basic level for his grade.

This is also the situation facing little Ukyo. Never one for mathematics herself she too was feeling like the very life-force from her veins was being drained. However, unlike her "brother" she at least understood part of the reason that she needed to have skills in mathematics from watching her father do change and tax forms, which were looking a lot more friendly right now.

"Thus when we take the sin of the angle theta (sp?) and compare it to the length of the hypotenuse..." Beast continued, quite aware of his students' situation and smirking slightly because of it.

"RING!" The bell on the wall sounded two of the most joyous things on Ran Okami's mind; freedom from math class, and lunch.

"Well I see that we shall have to start this again at some other time. Ran Okami if you would be so kind as to tell your mother I will be a little late, please." Beast smiled.

"Sure Mr. McCoy I'll make sure that they leave enough food for you." the Wild Wolf got out of there as fast as he could without his mother scolding him about running in the halls while Ukyo walked next to him.

In the months since we last saw our heroes the X-Men had actually gotten a lot better at finding Ran Okami in the woods, but to be honest they only could go up from their first try, and truelly were working as a finely tuned team.

Flashback to recent training

"Okay team watch your backs." Cyclops said. The obvious change in this young man's leadership ability and confidence could not be ignored and it would serve him well in the future as he would lead his team in battle.

"Yea this should be a synch." Angel joked.

"Stay focused. We now have two of them to deal with so keep in constant contact and watch your environment." Cyclops chastised his subordinate. "Remember there are more traps in here than any of us want to think about. Beast you sure that these safety measures of yours are going to hold up?"

"If I did not my good man then I wouldn't have given the okay for it, much less be down hear with you." The simple reasoning of that couldn't be argued.

Unlike the previous time this training was in the newly constructed Danger Room and a new member was added to the team. Ran Okami was dressed in the typical black/blue X-Men costume of the time, except that it had yellow slice marks around the torso and a mask that covered his eyes and part of his face.

"Hey pops lets get this show on the road." Wild Wolf called out to the control room far above their heads.

"Got it cub. Here's the mission for you: At the end of this room is a door, all you have to do is reach it and open it to win."

"That's it?" Iceman laughed.

"That's it bub, no time limit just get to that door." Logan pointed to the far side of the room where a normal, everyday, wooden door was situated; it was right next to the exit sign by the way.

"Okay team take this by the numbers and watch each other." Cyclops said as they ran, or flew, towards the exit at top speed, the hours spent running around the mansion had done wonders for there endurance and speed.

They didn't get five feet when the floor under them opened into a great cavern below. Without having to be told what to do, Jean levitated herself, Cyclops and Beast to the other side, Angel grabbed Wild Wolf's arms and flew him to the other side, and Iceman turned the walls into his own ice slide.

"Okay that was unexpected..." Wild Wolf said as his feet touched the ground.

"Duck!" Iceman yelled as two large metal balls swung from the walls and across the pathway. Cyclops shot out his optic beam and blasted the cord that held one of them up. This one flew wild and smashed directly into the other target giving it enough momentum to slam into the side of the corridor and get lodged there. The team did not have time to relax, as soon as one challenge was defeated another attacked.

A blaze of gun fire tore towards the X-Men, only to be stopped dead in its tracks by Jeans telekinesis. Iceman fired a stream of ice creating a blockade on both sides of the team for them to rush past the gun mounts and Cyclops take them out from behind.

Within just feet of their goal, a wall of flame jutted out of the floor and stopped them cold.

"Angel any way around this?"

"Give me a minute." The winged wonder tried to fly above the blaze, but no matter how high he went the fire always rose to him. "This is insane." was the response to this.

"Iceman cool this down."

"You got it." This too didn't turn out so well as the fire opened up to let the streams of cold and the balls of ice just pass harmlessly to the other side, but didn't stay open long enough to let any of them through.

Before Jean could try anything two more gun port opened up and fired. Beast bounded up to them with great skill and jumped into the paths of both guns so that they hit eachother and exploded. Jean had to concentrate on keeping the shrapnel down, which was not easy.

Angel now had his hands full as well dodging two heat seeking missiles. No matter what he did the missiles would keep on him like a pair of blood hounds. "Cyc do something will you."

"Get as close as you can Angel I'll get them." Cyclops replied trying to target the projectiles without hitting his team mate.

"Jean can you slow those things down?" Iceman asked.

"I need him to get closer, I can't focus at that range."

At this point Wild Wolf noticed something wasn't right. "Heat seeking missiles? And they aren't headed this way? Wait a second." Sniff Sniff "No smell of fuel, and it didn't get hotter down here when it went up to Warren..."

"Guys its a trick come on!" Wild Wolf leapt past the flames.

"Wild Wolf are you insane?" Jean yelled as Logan's son grabbed the door nob. The fire instantly disappeared and the missiles fell to the ground dead.

"But why weren't you..."

"There wasn't any fire. It was an illusion."

"Of course. If the flame was real then the missiles would have ignored Angel and come after us. Brilliant use of observation if I do say so myself." Beast smiled.

"But how did he figure it out?" Angel asked.

"We were so concerned with the latest threat that we didn't keep up with out surroundings and use our minds." Jeans said.

"Very good Wild Wolf, and excellent job team. I am sure that all of you would have figured it out given enough time." Professor X said over the communications system. "Now I think that is enough for today."

End of Flashback

"Hey Xavier-san can I go into the Danger Room again sometime soon?" Ukyo asked while enjoying her meal.

"I don't see why not my child. However it will have to be sometime in the future as the new holographic imaging system is being installed."

"Oh, okay I can wait." Ukyo pouted slightly. She was having such a good time training with her new 'family' that it hurt some times to not be part of the team training. (1)

"Hey lighten up. In a few years you might just be able to train with us all the time." Bobby said, trying to make Ukyo feel better. In the months following her arrival in New York Ukyo had been sort of adopted as everyone's little sister, and it had done wonders for a few people's opinions of humans.

"Really?" Ukyo smiled.

"That would depend on whether or not you are a mutant, which we will not know until years to come."

"But what about my Ranchan?"

"Usually mutants do not display their nature till the teen years Ukyo. It is rare, but not unheard of for mutants to have their nature reveal at a much earlier date; your brother fits this category."

"Oh, so that's why we're the youngest around here." Ukyo smiled, hoping that she would be just like her Ranchan.

"Yea well don't get your hopes up too high kid." Logan chided at the kitchen counter. "There's no telling if or when something like that will show up." Logan really didn't care if she was a mutant or not to tell the truth, but he did want her to have a happy life considering the crap that she had been handed. With that in mind she actually fit right into this little family of theirs.

"Hey Jean now that we have some time off you want to go to the movies?" Angel asked trying to sweet-talk her into his car.

"Well I really don't think so Warren. Scott already asked me so we have plans for this evening." Jean said giving loving stares towards the more stowart member of the X-Men.

"Oh come on Jean just dump him and lets go have fun. I mean he's more borring that a rock." Warren said placing his hand on Jeans arm.

"And he is a perfect gentleman too Warren." Jean said removing the unwanted hand from her arm and going to find Scott.

"And I thought I was the one who got cold shoulders." Bobby laughed.

"Watch it Bobby I may just be in the mood for some crushed ice for my drink."

"You're going to have to put your money where your mouth is pretty soon or I'll freeze it shut." The room's temperature dropped about 10 degrees, only to rise back up quickly when Logan decided to use his claw to slice open his beer can.

"I say let the lady choose bub, they usually choose right." Logan said lay his hand on Nodoka's butt for a moment.

"Oh Logan-kun behave a little." Nodoka blushed. She didn't mind the display of affection, she didn't want to spill the tray of food she was holding as she and Logan would need the energy for nookie soon enough. So she kissed him on the lips and placed lunch down on the table.

"Excuses me all of you but there is something I must attend to." Nodoka bowed and went off to find Scott and Jean, which wasn't that difficult a thing to do.

"Excuse me, I hope that I am not interrupting something but could I ask a favor form the two of you?"

"Um sure Mrs. Logan...I mean Auntie. What is it?" Jean smiled at the other, more matured, redhead.

"Logan and I have plans for the evening and we were wondering if you would be so kind as to take my son and Ukyo to the movies."

"Ah yea Auntie, sorry but we sort of had plans of our own and well..." Scott and Jean blushed.

"Oh I would never interferer with the two of you enjoying yourselves, or Scott showing how manly he is to you Jean." Nodoka said doing that waving motion with her hands, further embarrassing the couple. "I just wanted you to drop them off and Beast was going to pick them up afterwards. And you really don't have to be embarrassed you are 16 and it is completely fine with me."

"Ah thanks, but are you sure it's wise to just leave them their like that? I mean they are kids you know."

"I looked your also going to the new Disney film, just don't sit next to them and it will be perfectly fine; just sit far from them and glance occasionally in their direction, they'll have more than enough money to cover food and the movie."

"Okay Auntie, but you know that we'll be more than a little busy..."

"Oh of coarse you will Scott. As the field commander for the X-Men how could you not be very manly with your lady love; and you Jean can't help but fall for such a strong man. Believe me I completely understand it, how do you think I met my Logan-kun?"

It is here that Nodoka has once again shown her perfected ability to completely embarice young men and women with her unique stance on premarital sex, and nearly killed the thrill of it being sort of naughty.

"Well sure I guess it will be okay." Jean said with her cheeks as red as her hair.

"Good, and you don't need to wait-up for the kids since Beast promised to be there half-an-hour before the movie ends to pick them up. Enjoy yourselves, I know you will."

"You know I don't know how to respond to her sometimes." Scotts said almost in shock.

"At least she didn't tell us to wait till marriage till we started...you know."

"I almost pity the first girl that Wild Wolf takes home to meet her." (2)

"I pity the guy who tries to be Ukyo's first time." Both agreed that the boy would be in some serious shit from Logan, and given the green light by Nodoka. A very confussing situation indeed.

A trip to the movies is a rare occasion for members of the X-Men as they live so far from the city that weekly or monthly trips are all they can do on their gas budget, so it was no wonder why Scott and Jean were unsure about taking two kids with them on their special night out. Turned out to be just fine though since the moment that Jean and Scott kissed in the lobby Ran Okami distanced himself as far as he could from them, Ukyo just thought it was romantic and did her best to let them have their peace.

The movie in of itself was okay, but mostly ignored by Scott and Jean who altered their gaze between themselves and the two kids across the movie theater. Ran Okami didn't mind being this far from his team mates as it gave him more of the popcorn when he only had to share with Ukyo.

When the movie finished, and Jean and Scott were able to pry themselves off eachothers' faces, they all found themselves at the front area of the theater looking for Beast, who was no where to be see in the crowd.

"Hey Jean any idea where Hank is?" Scott asked try to get away from temporary parental duties and on with his lover duties.

"Not a clue, maybe something happened."

"Well I don't know about your friend, but if you don't hand over your money right now sweetheart something's going to happen to you." A rather large man replied from the shadows holding a sawed-off shotgun under his cloak. Cyclops immediately leapt into action with his body in the way of Jean and his hand on the rim of his glasses.

"I wouldn't do that hero. I got a real itchy trigger finger here and...AHHHH!"

In blinding speed Ran Okami had covered the distance between himself and the thug and drove his claws into the man's kneecap nearly severing his leg and crippling him greatly.

"Why you little bastard I'll..." remember what I said about time being an illusion? Well some illusions fell real, especially when they move really slow. As the barrel of the weapon leveled with the young mutant, a crimson beam of light flashed in front of him. The thug was slammed back all the way to the end of the alleyway and his body slammed with enough force that it cracked the brick.

This act of heroism did not stop the trigger from being pulled. As the foe flew back several feet the brief flash from the shotgun was answered by a cry from the Wild Wolf who fell flat on his back and slid to the wall.

"RANCHAN!" Ukyo cried grabbing her brother. "Ranchan please, you've got to be alright. Please don't leave me..." She cried into his chest.

"Ah Uchan please my shoulder." Wild Wolf said weakly grabbing where blood had been pooling on his shirt and running down his arm for a moment before coagulating into what looked like a little stream fed by a pond.

"Ran Okami you alright?" Scott asked moving the mutant's shirt from the wound.

"Hurts like hell, but I'll live."

"You big jackass. You scared the shit out of me." Everyone overlooked Ukyo's language as she hugged the closest family she had, from the other side of his body from where she hurt him of course.

"Okay, its just a glancing flesh wound, but I am taking you home. Jean can you contact the Professor and tell him to have the med-room ready?"

"Already done Scott. Hank had to change out a flat tire and is on his way now. Logan and Nodoka want to talk to us when we get back."

"Got it."

"Scott let me see the patient." Beast said leaping from the parking lot and clearing the distance with inhuman ease. "Okay you'll be fine my friend, but we need to get you home as soon as possible."

"He'll really be alright MaCoy-sensei?"

"Don't worry little one. It takes more than a mere gun to put down the son of Wolverine." The inhuman strength of Beast is matched with an equally great gentleness as Ran Okami was placed in the backseat and they drove home as fast as Xavier's Roles Royse could take them. Jean and Scott decided to cut their date short.

Being in front of either Professor Xavier or Logan when they are upset is enough to make a man shit himself, both is akin to looking into hell itself. This is where we find Jean and Scott soon after getting home.

"Okay let me get a few things straight in this story of yours. The guy threatened you, pointed a gun at you when you put yourself between him and Jean, then my son attacked him and you fired. Is that correct?"

"Yes…sir." Scott nearly choked.

"And he fired only after you knocked him to the wall. Is that correct?" Logan growled.

"Yes…that it correct."

"But he was going to fire even if you had not used your eye beams?" Professor X asked.

"Yes Professor he turned the gun towards me and Jean and it was only then that Logan's son attacked the man." Jean said.

"First I would like to say how upset I am that this happened." Jean and Scott were about to intervening, but they were cut off by a raised hand and a gentle smile. "I am not upset with you or anything that you or Ran Okami did. Scott you too action to defend you teammates and only reacted when you were threatened by an actual deadly force and reacted instantly to aid a wounded comrade. That is a sign of a great leader."

"Yea kid, you did everything right and I am proud of both of you. However, that don't change the fact that my son was shot or that Nochan is probably going to ask you herself what happened. She'll be upset and rightfully so, but you ain't at fault and handled yourself as a team." Logan said shaking Scott and Jeans hands, "Not to mention I owe you big time for this. Take the rest of the night for yourselves." Logan said heading to the medical ward to see his wife and son.

Nodoka was a worried site as she saw Beast gentle remove the few small pieces of lead from her son's shoulder. Even thought she knew in her head that his healing factor would easily repair the damage and that it wasn't life threatening even if he was human, her heart was filled with worry as all mother's feel for their sons.

"Logan-kun I am so glad to see you." Nodoka cried into her husband's chest.

"Darl'n its okay the kid's going to be fine."

"I know, but still I can't help myself. I feel like I almost lost him again."

"Nochan I understand. Your a great mother, that's why you feel this way."

"I still want to talk to Scott and Jean. I talked to little Ukyo but..."

"Give it a day Nochan, they've been through a lot on their own so let them deal with it for a while. You can wait till tomorrow."

The soft plinking of shot falling into a collection tin held by a little girl in a nurse's outfit came to a stop as Beast cleaned the wound and watched in amazement as the healing factor the young mutant had repaired most of the damage without the need for stitches. By tomorrow there wouldn't even be a scar.

"Well, how is my patient feeling?"

"My shoulder's a little sore, but okay I guess. Everything okay?"

"Couldn't be better, given the circumstances of coarse." Beast smiled. "I must say that it was very noble of you to attack that man to save Scott and Jean. I would say that your father would do the same thing in his shoes."

"Yea, well I couldn't let the guy just shoot them. It's not what we X-Men are supposed to do right?"

"You got that right kid, but you still got shot."

"Yea, I guess I still need work on that?" Ran Okami said scratching the back of his head and chuckling slightly.

"This is no joke son. You are fortunate that it wasn't a dangerous wound and you heal like your father. What if it was more dangerous and you couldn't heal? You would be dead my son." Nodoka chastised her offspring while hugging him as tight as she could.

"So what does that mean?"

"So your father and I have discussed this in great detail and we thing that you..."

"Please tell me that you aren't going to pull me from the team. Please I'll get better. I love being a member of the X-Men." Ran Okami begged.

"Of course we aren't pulling you from the team. But we are going to insure you are trained as best as you can. You are a born fighter my son; you attacked an obvious weak spot to do maximum damage, you acted in the defense of others, and you worked as a member of a team. But you are still young and have many years of training ahead of you to be the best that you can be." Nodoka kissed her son on the head and dried her tears.

"Which is why I asked Chuck to let me take you and the rest of us to China and Georgia on occasions."

"Excuse me Logan-san but I don't get it." Ukyo said.

"You have a cousin who is a member of a warrior tribe in China. Her name is Xan Pu and she is the best warrior of her generation in the village. She is training with her great-grandmother Khu Lon to be the best in the village and the both of them have wanted to meet you for the longest time. They can help train you so what happened tonight never can be as dangerous as it was. Also a few army buddies of mine have agreed to train the both of you." Logan smirked. "So you up for it?"

"Absolutely pops."

"And wherever Ranchan goes I go. Outside the boys room obviously." Ukyo smiled hugging her brother.

"Good. Now you two will still keep up with your schooling while you do this as it is one of the requirements that Xavier-san had for you two to go on these trips.

"Oh man." Ran Okami groaned thinking that the shotgun blast was less painful than more math lessons.

Next Chapter: Your in the Army now.

"How in the heck is that kid training under Snake Eyes and Sgt. Slaughter?" Asks LT. Falcon.

"Because he can kick your ass Falcon." Slaughter says smiling as Ran Okami is carry a standard Army pack on his back and going through an obstacle course.

Authors notes: Sorry for the delay in getting this out but I have been gone for the past few weeks and have been without a computer for a while. A few people asked when G.I.Joe was going to show up, well you can wait till next month to enjoy that and then you can look forward to the Chinese Amazons. This is going to be a long fic and will encompass about 30-40 years of character development and story line before it is over so please bear with me for a while more.

(1) As per the suggestion of a few fans of this work I have decided to change my original idea of the plot and make Ukyo a mutant. I am not going to tell you what the mutation is, but you are free to guess till I reveal it in the following chapters.

(2) I know who is going to be paired with my version of Ranma and so should you if you read the original Though the Years. If not then you will just have to wait.

I am proposing a challenge to you all. If you can figure it out and e-mail me it (private message or personal e-mail please **DO NOT** try to say who it is in the reviews as to not spoil it for the rest of the readers). Then I will personally congratulate you in the next chapter of my work.

THE CHALLENGE:

You must

1. guess what the mutation of Ukyo is

2. guess which character gets cursed at the springs (hint it is not nor will ever be Ran Okami)

3. Figure out at least one of the original pairings I am going to try. Note even if you guess wrong I might use your pairing in the story itself and give you personal credit for it.

This is not, repeat not, intended to feel like some superiority or arrogant thing just something fun to do as fellow fan fiction lovers. If you do feel insulted by this challenge I am sorry, if not feel free to try and have fun. You can also give suggestions for my story and I may use them. Be forewarned however that if it interferes with my core plot I will not use it. Also look for the story of my student Vlad the Daywalker which may be appearing in a few months. For those who are part of the GDficHeaven group on Yahoo a preview of sorts is under the background story for authors section (its the only file there).


	7. Chapter 7

Through the Years Chapter 7: You're in the Army now.

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and anyother Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

Last time in Through the Years Ran Okami was exposed to harshness of reality at the point of a gun and his parents decided that he was ready to train under some of his father's old friends. Now we see how he takes to G.I.Joe's hardest physical training.

Re-written because you wanted a longer battle:

Key: "Spoken" "_Sign language_"

This is the Pit. The secret G.I.Joe headquarters located in Georgia and one of the most secure places on the planet, and one of the few places where people in odd costumes are considerd normal outside New York.

Beach Head was not in a really good mood this morning, not that he is ever really in a good mood to begin with but that is sort of besides the point. He was nearly growling as he poored his coffee and headed to his desk. It had been a very long night and he hadn't the time to really recover from attacking a Cobra weapon's plant in the Rockie's. Now he had to sit down for several hours filling out reports and going to briefings. So when he found a asian kid walking the halls unattended he thought of only two things: 1. It was probably some foreign dignitary's child and that meant some bigwig was around also, and 2. that he was going to likely be stuck taking previously observed child on a tour of the base which he was in mood to do.

"Okay kid who are you and what are you doing here?" the Green Beret asked.

"I'm Ran Okami Logan sir. Um you wouldn't know who's in charge of training around here do you?"

Beach Head was caught between groaning and smirking. The kid's English was prefect and without accent so that cut any possible foreign big-wigs, but since he was in charge of training at the moment he still had to deal with the little brat.

"That's me, any reason you asked?"

"Well my dad brought me here because of a few friends of his were support to be some of the best trainers in the world."

"And what type of training are you talking about kid?" Beachhead asked.

"Martial arts, survival, physical training. I want to be the best so I go to visit here for a while to learn what I could. I was told to go down this hall but I got lost and a bunch of people directed me to an empty room; funny how they were all laughing."

Beach Head was really not in the mood to deal with little kids, especially not those who are the little brats of some sort of higher up who probably had a foreign wife and a pampered kid. However, this could be fun. If the kid really wanted to learn what Beach Head had to teach then he might as well make it as hard and realistic as possible. And the best part was that he couldn't get into trouble because he would be doing the very thing that the kid's father had brought him here for.

"Alright kid you really want to know what I know about survival and hand to hand?" the green mask blocked the almost sadistic smirk on the Green Beret's face.

"Well yea, if you'll teach me that is." Ran Okami shrugged.

"Let me finish my coffee and I'll personally make sure that you get the hardest, most difficult training available."

"That's why I'm here sir." Ran Okami smiled.

"And don't call me sir. If you're going to train under me you either call me sergeant or Beach Head, never sir." the NCO pointed harshly and left little doubt to his authority from that point on.

"Yes Beach Head."

"Good."

What one expects and what one gets are not always the same thing. For instance Beach Head had thought that he would be able to easily get the kid to quit after the first warm-up exercise, but that didn't happen. Then he thought that perhaps the track would prove to be too much, but nope this Ran Okami was actually able to run the track, and with ruck on which did impress the grizzled sergeant but he concluded that the kid was probably on a sports team so he decided to pull all stops and hit the really heavy stuff.

"Okay kid I'm impressed that you actually got thought that, now we are going to do some really hard training."

"Great Beach Head, what is it?"

"The obstacle course here." Beach Head said pointing to a series of tires, rope swings, walls, handlebars, and even more dangerous equipment that Ran Okami thought belonged in the Danger Room. The whole thing stretched for miles on all sides creating a great labyrinth.

"Cool, you actually have people train on this thing?"

"Yep, this is where the real fun begins kid." Beach Head said pulling out a stop watch. "Now I'm going to time you to see how well you really do."

Ran Okami knelt at the starting line and waited for the signal.

"Go."

Like a bullet the Wild Wolf tore through the first few parts of the course with ease, and to be honest Beach Head was actually impressed by it.

Fate, however, decided to then kick everyone in the immediate area in the butt.

"Hey Beach Head you haven't seen a little boy running around this place have you?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Would this kid happen to be about ten years old, oriental looking, and have some weird name like Ran Okapi or something." Beach Head smirked.

"Yea, you know where he is?"

"I might, but why is it important?"

"Only that for the last few hours everyone on base has been looking for him."

"Why, he said he came here to train so I'm training him." The NCO pointed to the boy currently jumping and leaping all around the course with ease. Dodging traps, swinging on rope, leaping over pole vaulting levels with exceeding grace and skill.

"Oh my God. Beach Head that's just a kid what were you thinking?"

"What? This is why he came here isn't it? And to be honest he's making great time." Beach Head said looking at the hands of the watch ticking by.

"Sergeant what do you think you are doing?" Lt. Falcon asked overhearing the conversation between the two G.I.Joes who actually belonged on the team.

"Doing my job. This kid is some higher-up's son and said he came here to be trained by the best, so I'm doing what I'm supposed to do." Beach Head nearly growled having no leniency for the idiot in front of him.

"I can't believe I am agreeing with Falcon here, but he's just a kid, how can you possibly think that he can go through the training necessary for G.I.Joe?" Lady Jaye said.

"Hey Beach Head how'd I do?" Ran Okami said sweating and panting as he came-up to the group of people standing around.

"Fine kid, real fine. In fact you just beat Lt. Falcon's best record by about 5 minutes." Beach Head smirked. Regardless of what the reader might think Beach Head was not happy for Ran Okami being able to run the coarse so much that he loved to point out that a kid could beat a Joe's best time so they all had to train harder, but it was Falcon's time and that's really not saying much.

"Really, cool. So what else have you got around here to train on?" Lady Jaye and Lt. Falcon almost wanted to do the anime face fault, but this was not Japan so gravity wasn't as screwy and then just dropped their jaws to the ground.

"Ah kid I think you need to take a break after that." Lady Jaye said trying to not insult Ran Okami's spirit, but still not losing sight of him.

"But I'm doing so well aren't I Beach Head?"

"Damn straight kid. But go get a drink and cool down, you earned it."

"Yes Beach Head." Ran Okami smiled and ran off enthusiastically towards the water fountain.

"Now who's kid is this anyway? I through everything I could at him and instead of failing he thrived on it."

"What's the matter; old man loosing his touch?" Lt. Falcon smirked.

"Shut up Falcon." Lady Jaye and Beach Head said simultaneously.

"I mean nothing I could think of could make this kid give up. He's not human."

"He ain't bub, but that's really besides the point." A familiar voice replied as a jeep pulled up to the course.

"Wolverine what are you doing here?" Beach Head asked.

"Making sure my son becomes the best fighter he can, and I have you to thank for that."

"What are you talking about?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Simple. Logan here wanted Sgt. Slaughter and Snake-Eyes to help train his son, but I didn't think that a kid could possibly survive going through the Slaughter house or Snake-Eye's martial arts training."

"But you proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the kid could do it. Thank's bub I owe you one." Logan smiled slapping Beach Head in the back.

"You mean that the kid is your son. I don't believe this." Beach Head groaned.

"Hey pops what's going on?" Ran Okami asked wiping his forehead with his forearm.

"Well that removes any doubts." Lt. Falcon said about to walk off.

"Hold it right there lieutenant. I would like a word with you later." Gen. Hawk said.

"Yes Sir." Falcon saluted.

"Now kid, how did you end-up out here?" Logan asked.

"Well I went down the hall I was told to, but I got lost and had to ask directions, but everyone I asked laughed and just pointed to another room, so I just found myself walking around trying to find someone who knew where I was suppose to go, then Beach Head found me and he's been training me since then."

"And when was that?" Lady Jaye asked.

"About three hours ago." Beach Head smirk. Oh yea he was really going to love bringing this up later.

"Alright kid you need to hit the showers then we'll be off to lunch." Logan smiled.

"Sure pops. Thank you Beach Head I really loved the training." the young mutant waved as he and his old man drove out of sight.

"Now Lt. Falcon what's this I hear of a kid no older that 12 beating your best run time by five whole minutes?" Gen. Hawk smirked, Beach Head smirked, Lady Jaye smirked. Needless to say there was a lot of smirking going around. Lt. Falcon was not going to be in a good mood for a long time.

By the end of the day everyone on base had heard about Beach Head not being able to make a challenge hard enough for someone not even starting puberty. Boy was everyone in for a big surprise on that one.

"Hey Beach Head I heard a kid beat your obstacle course. You sure that you still got it?"

"Stow it Shipwreck."

"Now what's this I hear, a kid kicked your rear?"

"Not now Roadblock." Beach Head nearly growled as he was trying to enjoy his dinner.

"Come on Beach Head I want to hear this." A native Georgian red head smiled.

"Fine. Yep a kid beat the obstacle course." Beach Head said flatly, and everyone laughed.

"Oh you're kidding. The legendary Beach Head beaten by a kid?"

"He didn't beat me Shipwreck. However he did beat you, Alpine, Ace, Dusty, and Falcon but that's not saying much."

"You're lying."

"Nope I had it signed by three witnesses, including Gen. Hawk and that's not all."

"Oh, what else can you tell me about his 'wonder boy'?" Scarlet smiled just trying to see how big a load Beach Head was spewing.

"Lets see, he's going to be trained by your boyfriend and Slaughter from now on."

"Oh BS Beach Head, pure BS." Scarlet laughed so loud she was living up to her name, or maybe she was trying to hide her blushing at the mention of Snake-Eyes.

"Any else you like to tell, you happen to be doing so well?" Roadblock smiled, seeing how deep Beach Head's insanity had spread.

"Yea, his name for starters."

"Ran Okami Logan, and he happens to be the son of someone even I can respect." The Alabamian said throwing back his head and downing the last of his beer.

"Oh?"

"Wolverine." Beach Head said nonchalantly.

"He has kids?"

"Two, and a wife apparently." Duke said walking up to the group with is own meal. The idea of Logan being a family man was something which had shocked him at first, and he was not looking forwards to his mother bugging him to follow suite with one of the ladies that always seems to fall for him when he was fighting COBRA. He wasn't a Casanova or anything just Cobra Commander always dumped him in the same cells as he imprisoned the local girls who opposed his rule over their lands. It wasn't Duke's fault that they always were hot, in cloths barely able to hide their assets, or that they were always chained to the wall, and happen to throw themselves at him in gratitude when freed.

"Anything else that you would like to tell us about this kid Duke." Shipwreck laughed.

"Other than Sgt. Slaughter and Snake-Eyes will be training him for the next few weeks? Not much."

"So this kid, not even a teenager, is going to be under the constant observation of two of the hardest instructors the United State's military has to offer, and he just happens to be Wolverine's son?" Scarlet asks, almost in shock. "And no special treatment?"

"Outside getting a rucksack that fits him, no."

"What mother could possibly allow her child to go through something that insane?"

"Oh that's not the start of it Scarlet." Duke groaned. "Apparently you and Lady Jaye have the honor of training his daughter."

"Duke, please...tell me your joking."

"And it was Wolverine's wife who suggested it." Duke groaned.

"What psychotic did Logan marry?"

"Don't know, some woman named Nodoka." Duke said reading the small notepad he had written the high notes on.

Let us skip to the next day bright and early. Ran Okami was up, dressed in his X-Man uniform, and waiting for instruction.

"What in the hell kind of outfit are you dressed in kid? You think that you are some kind of Joe?" A gruff, loud, and authoritative voice said walking up to the young mutant.

"No I'm some sort of X-Man." Ran Okami answered as he say the form of Sgt. Slaughter walk up to him.

"X-Man huh? What the heck is and X-Man doing here?" the drill instructor smirked.

"To take all the training I can take." Ran Okami answered smiling.

"Wipe that smile off your face kid. You think that this is funny?"

"No sergeant not funny at all." Ran Okami said going into a neutral expression.

"Good, because from this point on all fun stops. You want to train like a Joe, the you act like a Joe. Now why in Uncle Sam's Army did I get stuck training you?" Slaughter said sounding like Ran Okami's old man.

"Because Beach Head wasn't tough enough sergeant." Ran Okami answered.

"Really, not tough enough huh, well lets see how tough you can take it kid. Have you ever seen real combat before kid? Huh? This ain't training for some higher score on some danged computer simulation."

"Well I was shot once sergeant."

"You were what?" Sgt. Slaughter stopped in mid stride.

"Shot. In my shoulder."

"And let me guess you just heal too fast to leave a scar from it huh?"

"I also tore out the guy's kneecap with my claws before he shot me if you want to know."

"What claws would those be kid?"

"These sergeant." bone blades projected from between the young mutant's knuckles and Sgt. Slaughter grinned.

"Alright kid I believe you, but you ain't going to be able to use them here. You've got spunk, guts, and attitude, but you want to train like a Joe, you act like a Joe. Now put those things away." Ran Okami complied and was back at attention. "Alright now lets start by running the whole base with ruck on. And so you know the way I'll be running with you." Sgt. Slaughter said as he and Ran Okami lifted up their rucks and double-timed it around the whole dang pit.

Lt. Falcon was not enjoying his day. He was hot, sweaty, and he was no where near a woman who he wanted to hit on.

"Get your sorry ass up you pathetic waste of a uniform! I don't give a damn how tired you are you are going to finish this damn course!" Beach Head yelled into the man's ear.

"How...in the hell...is it...that kid did this...faster than I did?" Falcon wheezed.

"Because the kid didn't let little things like being tired slow him down." Beach Head answered wanting to shove his boot up Falcon's ass to get him to move. "And what do you know the kid's even come by to see how much of a wuss you are." Beach Head smirked.

"Ain't got time for wusses, got to train...got to train harder..."

"That's the spirit kid. Only five more miles and your half-way there. Hooha." Sgt. Slaughter smiled as he edged the speed on a little more.

"Now why is it that more young boys aren't like him?"

"Because maybe most young boys aren't insane?" Falcon thought to himself.

Meanwhile on another side of the base.

"You actually fight with a spatula?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Yep my family style."

"Since when does Logan use a spatula?"

"Um, Mr. Logan isn't my father, he's just training me since my dad's really sick right now."

"That would explain a few things. Okay kid let me see what you got." Ukyo responded by twilrling here battle spatula around in her hands and sliced a wooden board in half.

"Nice. You use anything else from the kitchen to fight with?"

"Well...I have been working on flour bombs and such, but Auntie didn't let me bring them here, said that they may confuse it with something called heroine. I don't get it."

"What don't you get about that?" Lady Jaye asked.

"How can a cooking ingredient save your life on its own." And thus another idiosyncrasies of the English language was discovered by a foreign speaker.

"Ukyo I'll tell you about that later. Right now I'd like to see just how good a spear that thing makes."

"Not really a good one. It's all the wrong shape and not balanced right."

"And who told you that?"

"Mr. Logan did, when I did try it as a spear and it hit the ground too short and nearly vertical. Then it bent back and smacked Angel in the face like one of those cartoons where the guy steps on a shovel."

"Well it didn't work as you wanted, but it still worked. Okay Ukyo lets see how those mini-spatulas of your work." Low and behold dear reader than a little girl can beat most people in dart-throwing, and with a misshaped weapon to boot.

Now my dear reader you may be asking just were Logan and Nodoka are right now? The answer is that they are themselves training, or at least practicing, against Snake-Eyes and Scarlet. Nodoka had decided that her usual dress of a Kimono would be a poor decision, namely due to all the mud that she didn't want sticking to it, nor having to let the guards search her for contraband when they came on base. Instead she was in a slightly larger version of Jean's own costume. Why Jean's costume you ask? It was handy, it fit pretty well if only a little snug (you see what having a kid does to you're body), and it had caught Logan's eye when he saw her wear it. Excluding the mask Jean wears as Marvel Girl the two may have been mistaken for each other, given a few years.

"Nodoka I have to admit you're a piece of work." Scarlet said having to sit down from the rather intense sparring the two had just done.

"I must admit that you are quite the fighter yourself Scarlet. Tell me were did you learn the arts?"

"My father runs a dojo in Atlanta." Scarlet said throwing back the water bottle.

"So he didn't have a son or someone else to train and you took to it then?"

"Nope, I had to grow up with six older brothers."

"I take it being the only woman outside your mother wasn't easy?" Nodoka asked accepted the drink Scarlet offered and drying her own forehead.

"You got that right, but that didn't stop me from learning how to kick all their asses." Scarlet smirked.

"That is quite an accomplishment; single handedly or individually?"

"Both, but the former only after I met Snake-Eyes here."

"Then he is an excellent teacher? I have no doubt that my son will learn much from you then Snake-Eyes."

Snake-Eye's merely nodded at that.

Silence and stealth are a snakes greatest assets when hunting. The same can be said for the one's who use the serpent's name.

"Commander are you actually sure that this is such a good idea? Didn't the last time we attack the Joes at their own base end in a horrible disaster?" Destro groaned awaiting the inevitable failure of yet another one of Cobra Commander's deranged plans. Why was it that they couldn't have build some long range weapon system or spent years of planning and preparation on an carefully constructed scheme of world domination. The money wasted on these ventures could have been spent in weapon's development and bribary of foreign officials.

"We were unprepared Destro and you know that. This time we have disabled all of our enemy's ability to call in reinforcements, sabotaged their defense grid, and we will overrun them by sheer number." Cobra Commander hissed as he pressed a remote control's button. In a blinding flash of heat and sound the Pit was under attack.

"COBRA!" the resounding battle cry was heard catching everyone off guard.

"What the devil is going on here?" Flint yelled grabbing a laser rifle and opening fire on the swarms of B.A.T.s that had just torn down the perimeter defenses. The sound of alarm reverberated across the base.

"Now is the time..."

"for Cobra to reign supreme." Xamot and Tomax, psychically linked twins said in perfect unison.

Meanwhile, back with Wild Wolf and Sgt. Slaughter.

"Kid we got company. You head back to the barracks now and take cover." Slaughter yelled pointing towards the armored building behind them.

"Hey a martial artist doesn't run from a fight sergeant." Wild Wolf protested.

"But a solider obeys orders. If you ever want to train here again you will do as I say, is that understood?" Slaughter nearly yelled.

"Yes sergeant." Wild Wolf said running away from the battle as Slaughter tore towards the deadly lightshow at the bases edge.

"Scarlet what in the hell is going on?" Duke asked barging in the room and grabbing a rifle from the side of the wall.

"We're under attack Duke, all communications are cut off and we're being overrun by air and ground forces. I can't get Ace on the line and or anyone for that matter."

"Damn it. Okay you get those com-lines up and running. I want everyone who isn't needed to get those things running to get their asses out and shootn'. Get Lady Jaye to get Wolverine's family to safety. Rock'n roll you and me need to head those robot bastards now." Duke says tossing the scruffy looking blond a rifle. "Lets go! YO JOE!"

Scene shift to Lady Jaye Nodoka and Ukyo.

"Come on Auntie they need our help." Ukyo said heading towards the sounds of battle and bloodshed.

"What they need is for us to get out of the way Ukyo. I won't have you running off into battle and getting yourself killed for nothing."

"But we just can't do nothing."

"Nodoka, take Ukyo and head to the computer rooms they're the safest place around here and wait till were done."

"Understood Ms. Jaye." Nodoka said placing her hand on her adopted daughter's shoulder and trying to usher her as far from the combat as possible.

"But Auntie." The cute little girl protested with all her might, trying to do what she could to help fight the bad guys.

"Ukyo your a civilian. I can't just let you run out into the face of danger and get shot at. You will do as you are told little lady is that understood?"

"Yes Lady Jaye it's understood." Ukyo sighed as she was led far from the main battle.

The parameter of the base was a virtual pit of hell as lasers and lead rained down from both sides carving man and machine into pieces, it was sad to say who had the upper hand at the moment.

"Yes my forces are invincible. Onward Vipers for the glory of Cobra!" Cobra Commander said as he opened fire himself on the Joes falling back to more defendable positions; lossing ground faster than they could make it up.

"Kiss my ass you scaly serpent bastards." Duke responded driving a jeep into the battlefield at full throttle turning abreast the advancing line of B.A.T.s. "Rock'n' Roll can you take them down?" Duke said digging into the ground fast and hard trying to give some room for his troops to regroup and attack.

"With pleasure Duke." jumping from the shotgun possition into the back the younger blond opened up with 50 cal. rounds onto the robot legions. This was supposed to give the Joes the much needed turn of the tide they needed, saidly the bullets seemed to just bounce of the robots like flies against a massive windshield.

"Impressive, but you will find that these new B.A.T.s have been upgraded so they are far more resistant to lead." Destro gloated while firing. "An impressive display of courage Duke, but in the end, futile."

"What about we see how they like adamentium bub." Logan yelled driving his claws through a few of the battle machines like a hot knife through butter. Severed circuits and wires flew into the air as the Canadian made these terminator rip-offs into scrap iron.

"Who the devil is that man?" The stoic Destro asked in complete shock. Before an answer could be given, Cobra Commander activated the speaker inside his helmet.

"Baroness I need cover fire now. Vipers press on the attack!" From out of the sky, blue Rattles swarmed down in a blaze of gun fire.

"Let us see how you Joes deal with being overwhelmed by force of arms?" Baroness coldly smiled targeting the growing number of vehicles and men coming from the base. "Cobra."

"Damn it Duke we're out manned and out gunned." Flint said ducking behind a rock as the Rattles flew overhead. "We need backup pronto."

"Damn snakes cut communications to and from the base. We're cut-off from any reinforcements for the time being. Roadblock get into the weapons lockers and gets us some damn RPG's. Even with Wolverine we ain't going to win this till we take out those Rattles."

"If you got a plan I'm your man." Roadblock answered ducking fire.

"Joes give Roadblock some damn cover fire on my mark. 1...2...3!" Flint yelled as every Joe with a loaded weapon unloaded it on the advancing force against them. Time was not something Roadblock was going to waste.

Meanwhile deep within the lower levels of the Pit's structure, Firefly silently skulked around the avoiding the battlefront, this was the best way that his mission would not be interrupted. He was able to almost reach his objective of the computer room in one of the towers, but sadly for him he had to pick the time that Nodoka Logan was on the warpath and more than mad enough to take him on.

"Well now aren't you a pretty sight. What's your name toots?" Firefly said admiring the view of a red-head in tight green spandex.

"I am Nodoka Logan, student of Hamato Yoshi master of the Foot style Ninjitsu and Katsuhito master of the samurai blade style of the Musaki Shrine. I will not let you tread further."

"How quaint, you won't let me tread any further? Nobody lets me do anything; I do what I please."

"Such impudence of a trespasser cannot be tolerated. Prepare yourself." With lightning speed and fluid grace the matriarch of the Logan clan slice at the Faceless One with all the cunning and strength she had to bear.

Going back to the battle at the gates of the pit. Logan was surrounded on all sides by robots and men shooting at him and trying to bring him down. Now not only metal shards were cascading around him but limbs and blood too. Several Vipers actually wet themselves as they saw this guy take bullets in the chest and slice open the Viper's entrails who had just open fire on him.

"Well looks like you punks ain't got what it takes to mess with the big boys." Logan growled as he jabbed his claws through the helmet of a Viper.

"Big boy's huh? Looks like someone needs to learn their place." A rather tall, build man in a muscle shit and biker pants said. "The name's Roadhog and you're going to be put in your place runt."

"Nobody calls me runt bub, unless you want to get stuck like a pig." Logan said leaping into the air and spin kicking the man's head, which his leg was grabbed and he was slammed face first into the ground.

"Ah what's the matter, did I hurt you little man?" Roadhog laughed giving the Cobra forces a renewed spirit of battle.

"That was pittiful bub. I've been hurt more taking a leak that that pathetic a hit." Logan yelled launching himself right at his foe's chest claws beared and going deep.

"Ah you son of a..."

"Shut your mouth punk." Logan said taking his claws out of the man's chest, grabbing the sides of the jacket and Judo throwing the Cobra strongman onto the group of Vipers that had surrounded him with enough force to nearly break the man's back. "Now who's the big man now?" Logan smiled with his claws again out and looking at the Vipers around him. "Who's next bub?" Vipers they may be named, but chicken is what they are at heart.

"Scarlet I almost got this thing fixed I need you to cut all power to the computers and restart them." Sci-Fi said messing with the wiring.

"But if we cut the power to these computers then the files will only be accessable to the back-up systems in the bunkers."

"Tell me something I don't know, but its the only way to do it. Lets just hope Cobra doesn't know that much about our security system."

Ah but they do, but even with said knowledge there is a slight snag in Cobra's plan.

"I am genuinely impressed Nodoka-san. I have not faced one in battle for so long I forgot what a good fight felt like." Firefly smiled.

"I have a confession for you Firefly." Nodoka said dodging an overhead swipe from the Cobra mercenary. "I am not alone in this fight."

"Oh and who cold possibly come to help you? Everyone on base is trying to stop the invasion so no Joes are here to help you."

"She means me you jackass!"

SMACK!

Take one battle spatula, one Ukyo, add cliché anime head attack enormous eyes and sweat drop from attack to the head as performed by an American cartoon character and you get the image of the scene before you as Firefly's body falls to the floor with a dull thud.

"Thank you Ukyo, we must get rid of this man before he awakes and attacks again." Nodoka says calming herself. Next scene is Firefly dropped from the roof onto a few cornered Viper troopers pinned by the Joes into a small allyway.

"Yo Joe!" Ukyo said holding her head up high as the body landed below.

Wild Wolf was doing as instructed. But the only path to safety ran close to the battle at the edge of the base. He promissed not to go looking for trouble, but when you're a version of Ranma trouble always comes to you.

"Well now what is a little boy doing here. Shouldn't you be with your mommy kid?" An unseen voice said cruelly from the shadows as Wild Wolf drew his claws.

"Nah she can handle herself, you on the other hand." Wild Wolf smiled as he looked right were Zartan was.

"Fuckingsonava Bitch!" Zartan cried as Wild Wolf drove his blades into the unseen foe's side. Blood spilled as the bone blades cut deep into the Wild Dog's stomach region. "How in the hell did you..?"

"Little fact for you ugly. I could smell you all the way across the field. You should at least bath once in a while so you don't smell as bad as you look."

"Why you impermanent little." Zartan was going to press the attack, until Snake-Eyes took a moment to throw a ninja star which nearly sliced the assassin's face. Mix in that the wound that he had been given was hurting like mad, Zartan made his escape.

"Thanks Snake-Eyes." Wild Wolf said dodging laser fire and knocking a few Viper's heads while at it.

"I don't believe it. My massive Cobra forces are being beaten by a bunch of children and costume freaks?" The nearly hyperventilating Cobra Commander screamed.

"Commander we have trouble." Destro said, being about the only leader in Cobra with a level head all the time. "It appears our air support is under attack from fighter craft."

"How the blazes did that happen. We severed their communication lines."

"Unknown commander, but with surprise lost I suggest a tactical retreat is in order for now."

"Agreed Destro. Vipers RETREAT!" Cobra Commander yelled turning tail and running leaving a few stragglers to fend for themselves.

"Just like that snake to turn tail and run just when the fighting was getting bad." Lady Jaye said seeing the wounded and injured Cobra troops stare as they were left to fend for themselves.

"Yea, but he'll be back. In the mean time looks like we owe you big time Logan." Duke smiled and shaked the mutant's hand.

"Don't mention it bub, this is what I call fun."

"I thought you would dear." Nodoka says laying one right on Logan's lips.

"Remind you of someone dear?" Flint asked Lady Jaye.

"Later please, we have work to do Flint." the Mrs. of the family smiled knowing how bad she had just teased her husband.

Tapping Logan on the shoulder, after Nodoka was done of course, Snake-Eyes motioned that he wanted a word in private.

"So what do you need bub?" Logan asked lighting one up.

_"Logan I am impressed by your son's ability to fight; in fact I have an offer for him that I thought I should ask you first."_

"Okay what is it."

_"You know that I am the last of my clan correct? the Arashikage do not really have anyone to carry on the style."_

"And this concerns my son how?"

_"Logan, I would like to train your son to be my style's heir, or at least to pass the secrets on to him since no one else is able to learn at this time."_

"You have my permission Snake-Eyes. Ask my wife and the kid though, she really has a thing about stuff that would get in the way of his schooling."

_"Of course Logan I wouldn't think of anything else."_

A few minutes later, and after many members of the team received much needed medical attention, we find out heroes at a table with a opened bottles of Yoe Joe Cola (1)

"So what do you you think kid? You think that you're up for the challenge.

"OH YEAH...I mean yes I would love to do it."

"I am proud of you my son. And I think that you should be thanking Snake-Eyes here for the honor of being chosen for such a task." Nodoka smiled at her son.

Ran Okami surprised a few people by getting up off his seat, and then bowing to Snake-Eyes. "I am honored to be your student Sensei. Thank you." Ran Okami said, and waited for a responce and waited, and waited. Tapping the young mutant's shoulder Snake-Eyes finally got Ran Okami's attention and bowed in acceptance of his new student.

"Sorry to pry sensei, but have you taken a vow of silence for your art or something?"

Snake-Eyes shook his head, and wrote the answer on a peice of paper.

"I am sorry I forgot to explain the reason I am called Silent Master. I am mute, so I can not speak. But I can communicate by sign language which you must know to learn under me. I will teach you in part, but likely you will have to train with others when not training with me so that you can learn to understand my directions fully."

"I understand sensei, and I am honored to learn from you." Ran Okami smiled. Now all that Snake-Eyes had to worry about was explaining to Nodoka about the tattoo her son would likely get that marked him as a member of Snake-Eye's clan.

"So Ace what took you guys so long?" Duke asked with beer in hand.

"Didn't know about the attack until Scarlet radioed for help. Got here as fast as we could."

"And may I say, you saved the day." Roadblock responded.

"Yea they took out the RPG's and SAMs we had with explosives so we had no way to take down those Rattlers. Good think you and Wild Bill got here when you did." Dusty said spreading, you guessed it, dust all over the place.

"Well shoot its more like those kids are the real heroes. I can't wait to see the look on old Cobra Commander's face when he learns kids were cleaning his clock." Wild Bill laughed.

Meanwhile in the Terrodome

"I can't believe it the plan was perfect." Cobra Commander screamed to the skies. "And all it took as a bunch of damn kids and a house wife to defeat us."

"Begging your pardon Commander but was it not that man with the metal claws who was a greater reason for this mission's failure?" Barroness asked.

"It's an image thing Baroness. Tactically I agree with you, but if childern are able to defeat my forces, how on earth are we supposed to rule the world?"

"Commander we couldn't have expected such a retaliation from the Joes, and this may be turned to our advantage." Destro smiled. "If we learned more about this particular family then we may find others..."

"Others which may be even more powerful, excellent idea Destro." Cobra Commander smiled. "Now find me who these people are. I don't want any excuses." Cobra Commander said jabbing an knife through the pictures of Logan, Nodoka, Ran Okami, and Ukyo on his desk.

(1) this is an actual drink in the G.I.Joe cannon.

Next time on Through the Years

"Great-grandma we have guests." Xan Pu smiled hugging onto her Uncle Logan while Nodoka patted the little girl's head.

Little Trouble in Big China

"What do you mean 'little trouble' bub?"

Authors notes: I would like to personally thank Dumbledork for being the only person to take-up the challenge I posted. Sadly I am unable to use his ideas, as good as they really are, in my story. So everyone please give a big round of applause to him for having the courage to take-up the challenge. For anyone who would like to still take-up the challenge I posted in my last chapter they are more than welcome and I will thank each of them individually for taking time to add to the fun of the story. Also if you have not read my new story "Harry Potter and the Half Bloods" please do and review, its what keeps me making these things.


	8. Chapter 8

Through the Years Chapter 8

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"Chinese"

"_Japanese_"

"English bub."

Previously in Through the Years:

The Logan family has become a new thorn in Cobra Commander's side after they were instrumental in the failure of what should have been a glorious success for Cobra. In recognition for the Wild Wolf's fighting ability Snake-Eyes has asked if the young Logan could be the heir to the Silent Master's style. Now the Logan family finds themselves on a trip to China to visit a few distant relatives.

It had been about three or four years since last we have seen the Logan family. Between raising two kids, training the next generation of superheroes, commuting to Georgia occasionally, and the summer trips to Japan time has a way of flying, they sort of had their hands full. Then there was the fact that even though the cold war was essentially, getting into a very tightly controlled socialist system was still...lets just say that the Logan family owed Col. Fury a few favors after this.

Forging documents to indicate that Logan was a Canadian political leader in charge of some bogus foreign affairs bureau (which really wasn't like Logan at all) who was married to the head of a powerful Japanese family with foreign ties, which actually true. And he was taking his family on a business trip to the undeveloped regions of China for some BS about understanding the ancestry of the region. It was true that they could have just taken the Blackbird but Charles still needed it as he had just found another mutant to join the X-Men. Some woman with green hair with a "magnetic" personality as Xavier put it.

Logan was currently sleeping with his hat over his face, placed their by Nodoka to silence her husband's snoring. Logan didn't even react when she placed it on him. Ran Okami was equally bored and decided to just look out the window at the overhead changing scenery of the ocean below. Ukyo was spending the time reading and trying to put the clues the writer had given her in her newest Nancy Drew together in her head. And when that got to be a chore she switched to looking at the pictures that Xan Pu had sent her of her village and her family.

Ukyo could see that her cousin came from a rather unique place, as it was not very often that one sees multi-colored hair naturally occurring in people. Granted Ukyo was used to red-heads like Auntie, Scarlet, and Jean, and blonds like Warren and that Duke guy, but purple? Or pink or green? Those really didn't seem to be natural hair colors...

Somewhere now Polarus, Morrigan, Lum, Ayeka, Sasami, and Psylocke sneezed.

Oh well her adopted family was mostly made of people who defied all of her previous ideas about normal or natural, so what if she was going to a village populated with people who had hair colors chosen by and interior decorator so what. The teenage Ukyo was looking forward to actually going to a place that a majority of the warriors where women for a change. Spending all her time with the X-Men and G.I.Joe wasn't exactly a good thing now since she didn't have anyone about her age and gender to relate to.

Ran Okami was having very different problems. In the years since last we saw the Wild Wolf, what was a slight concern was growing into a dangerous and very likely violent problem. Every time that the Logan family had visited Japan the made sure to spend time under masters Hamato Yoshi and Katsuhito with their cousin Tenchi, even taking up old challenges to who the better skilled warrior was. But some rivalries are not so peaceful. Oroko Saki was becoming more and more like his father, and in some ways surpassing him.

The constant drive to outdo Ran Okami had hardened the young ninja into an angry and dangerous teen. Having more cunning than to simply lash out with his skills and prove himself the best by fighting his peers, Oroko Saki kept his skills a carefully guarded secret and used them only when absolutely necessary. One such case was when he seriously wounded a challenger named Ryouga Hibiki(1). The fanged lost boy had simply gotten himself involved in some local martial arts tournament and had, true to character, gotten lost when he was supposed to face off against the future Shredder. About four days later...

_"Finally I am here to face you Oroko Saki."_

_"Finally? Finally you bastard? I have been waiting here for four days and you finally have the audacity to show your face?" _Saki was hardly amused by the tardiness of his foe, and unfortunately his father would not let him accept victory until he had faced Ryouga, and so it became a test of patients for the Foot style heir while his father had left and not come back. The rift between parent and offspring was growing ever stronger now.

_"Well yea man don't get upset about it...It was only four days..." _Ryouga didn't know what hit him after that.

Oroko Saki covered the distance between himself and his foe in blinding speed and simply punched Ryouga in the face. No style at all just sheer aggression and up welled tension.

Wheeling back a few feet Ryouga's face felt like it was on fire. Blood was gushing from the wound and several of Ryouga's teeth felt loose. Covering his face in his hand for a moment the lost boy found himself being pummeled in the stomach, thrown around like a rag doll on the mat.

The pure rage and aggression that Oroko Saki felt from having to endure the stupidity of the situation was blazing in him like an inferno. But he didn't mindlessly unleash it in blind attacks of uncontrolled fury. Saki had learned far better self control than that. Ninja was to be in control at all times, both of the situation and more importantly himself. Oroko Saki was nothing if not a ninja.

The hours upon hours of almost insane levels of training had paid off well for the member of the Oroko clan. He was faster, stronger, and more disciplined that almost anyone else in his generation. Save for his greatest rival Ran Okami; within the Foot clan Oroko Saki was the best ninja of his generation. Punches, kicks, blocks, all were instinctive to him and the pains of hunger drove him onward.

Ryouga had retaliated with powerful blows, but he couldn't land a single punch with his body losing so much blood. Each of his moves were growing slower and weaker, and with his merciless foe surgically attacking without pity, the future of this fight was obvious. He didn't even feel the new blows now as his body was raked with so much pain from what felt like hours of torture. In the end, he passed out and was left for dead. Saki was without question the victor and returned home with a smug look of satisfaction on his face and making sure not to leave any hint that he was ever there.

Ryouga would later find himself in the intensive care unit of the local hospital with more plastic tubing in him than the plumbing system of his house and himself in a full body cast.

_"Take it easy son. You'll be alright."_ the doctor said placing his hand on the boy's head and smiling.

_"What happened...where...wha...?"_ Ryouga was unable to focus on anything as the painkillers dulled the throbbing sensation his whole body felt.

_"It's okay. You may not remember much about last night but you took a very bad pounding. Broken bones, massive blood loss, and severe head trauma. You were almost dead when they found you this morning." _

_"Dead why...why would I be..."_ Ryouga groaned as his waking mind began to feel the full effect of what he had been through.

_"It's okay. What matters is that you are alive and will make a full recovery. Now you just rest while we find your parents Ryouga."_ the doctor left along with Ryouga from our story.

Sighing as he looked at the China Sea below filled with little white dots that were most likely very large ships moving about on a vast greenish blue field with no visible limits.

"Attention this is your captain speaking. We are going to be starting landing procedures soon so please fasten your belts and set your chairs in an upright position."

The cracked and broken voice of the flight attendant said over the intercom. Since Ran Okami and Ukyo had very little understanding of the Chinese language, indeed they still were referring to themselves in the third person, they had no idea what they were being asked to do.

Scratching the back of his head Ran Okami turned to Ukyo and shrugged.

_"Don't look at me Ranchan I have no idea what she said either."_ Ukyo said putting a simple leather bookmark in the pages of her novel and placed it back into one of the secret pockets of her undershirt. Ninja training did have several practical applications you know.

_"Put your seat up and buckle up."_ Logan said lifting the brim of his hat off of his face and looking at Nodoka who was doing the doe-eyed "I didn't do anything and if I did don't hurt me" look. Logan just smirked and got in the suggested landing position.

_"Logan-kun how was your little nap?"_ Nodoka asked while kissing her husband on the cheek. For someone as stereotypical of the traditional Japanese housewife to use such an informal greeting would have been shocking to anyone who knew Nodoka. However, seeing how Jean and Scott would interact with one another...well she picked up a few cultural concepts from them that she "really" liked. Even thought those concepts were timid compared to what Nodoka would do with Logan in the comfort of their bed.

_"Not much."_ Logan said wiping the sleep from his eyes.

_"Sorry to hear that."_ Nodoka replied with a smug grin on her face. _"Any reason why?" _She asked folding her hands in her lap.

_"None I'd repeat in polite company."_ Logan groaned adjusting his hat.

_"I understand Logan-kun. You'll probably sleep better after we land."_ Nodoka said wanting to hug her beloved and say everything was alright, but that had the potential to insult Logan's dignity. Instead she just placed her hand on Logan's and he griped her fingers affectionately.

Apparently dignitaries are treated much better than the typical traveler. As soon as the Logan family was taken off the plane they were directed down the ramp to a long black limo with men in business suits at all sides. The overzealous manner in which they were making the Logan family comfortable was not lost to them, and it made the parents a little uneasy, like something was about to pounce on you at a moment's notice.

"Welcome to our beautiful country Mr. Logan. I apologies for the lack of a formal dignitaries greeting, but my department was a little unsure as to your flight." The Chinese official smiled while never once taking his eyes off of the Canadian.

The assistant to the official's left had little in the way of notable features and kept himself occupied by looking through his folder and adjusting his glasses occasionally when his eyes would drift towards Nodoka. If nothing else this Canadian had excellent taste in women.

"Now I understand that you are here to observe some of our nation's most ancient locations, is that correct?" The unnamed official asked looking over a folder his assistant handed him. "Tell me, for what reason is this? Certainly our great modern cities and factories would interest your business leaders than our vast wilderness?

"Well bub, let's just say that this isn't directly a business trip.

"Oh? Then what is it that you are here for?" This was certainly an unusual trip then, and a very suspicious one.

"Culture. Let's just say that I'm on this trip to see the...heart of the people..." Logan stalled not knowing what to say at all. "Damn you Fury why the hell did you do this to me?" Logan thought to himself.

"Ah a cultural expedition...Very interesting. It is very rare that a foreign government sends its people to the wilds of my people's land. I will ensure that you will have everything that you will need for the journey taken care of."

The drive ended when the limo pulled over to a large government building and released the passengers.

"Sorry to leave you, but my assistant will be helping you from now on." The official said leaving them.

The Logan family took one look at this, apparently, unassuming man and tried not to groan.

"It is my honor to aid you in any way I can Mr. Logan"

"You sure you know what your getting yourself into bub?" Logan said very unsure about this.

"Quite." He smiled._ "After all you did save my wife's cousin a few years ago did you not?"_

_"Although I must complement you on your Japanese, you will have to be more specific about whom it is that my husband saved." _Nodoka smiled, still unsure about the way this man has been looking at her since they met at the airport.

_"Well none other than his niece Xan Pu of course. Why do you think I got assigned to help you reach the Amazon village?"_

_"Do you really want an answer to that?"_ Logan smirked.

_"No, but it doesn't really matter too much since it will give me a chance to get out of the office with my wife for a while."_ The man said rubbing the back of his head as he riffled through his briefcase holding a letter.

_"This was sent to me from the village so I knew that it was actually you."_

_"Okay, so when to we leave for the village?"_ Logan asked, in the typical blunt personality that he is so famous for.

_"As soon as your luggage is put in the trucks, it's been a few years since my wife has seen her family and well..."_ As the Logan family was walked to a garage, there was a red-headed woman running around grabbing bags and setting them into a very large van. She was slightly muscular, or at least her arms were since that was all that her T-shirt revealed. Greatly blessed with long legs and strikingly beautiful features, Nodoka did a double take and nearly face faulted.

"Wow, she looks like she could be mom's sister."

"Yes well, there does seem to be a similarity between us." Nodoka sweat-droped, a rather unfamiliar thing for her to experience.

"Dear don't just stand there scratching your head, there's still bags to pack and kids to buckle-up." The woman yelled not missing a beat in what actually looked like a graceful dance.

"Coming dear." The man said running to do his wife's bidding, or suffer the consequences of being lazy. I.e. he would have to deal with a very upset Amazon wife, and a very upset wife side of the family for at least a month, if he could last that long.

"Finally, I thought that you would never get here." She said placing a large suitcase in the trunk of the vehicle as her husband had the unfortunate job of transporting a series of very cumbersome bags to the van's trunk. "They are really overworking you at the office aren't they? Good thing that you're getting this vacation time with your family right?" She bounced while passing him. I mean really bounced. And smiled too. Man she really could push a guy's buttons.

_"Logan-kun why don't you help the poor man."_ Nodoka asked. It was obvious that the guy needed a break. Logan just turned to Nodoka with a raised eye-brow and a "You kidding me?" look on his face.

"Let me help you bub." Logan said while lifting one of the large items of luggage from the man's arms with one hand threw it over his back.

"Thanks." The man said nearly falling over as the point of balance shifted in his body.

"Oh hello there handsome, thanks for giving my husband a hand, just been so rushed I haven't been able to think lately." The Amazon woman said as she saw Logan over her shoulder. "You okay dear?"

"Just fine honey, uh what's with all this stuff?" The man said shutting the lid of the trunk. "I thought that we were only spending a month or so there?"

"Dear are you just saying that I pack too much?" The red head as sweetly.

"No, I just thought that we were walking the last few miles or so. With all this we would have to make several trips."

"Well we were going to be walking, but we had a few of my sisters from around the world asked me to bring their letters, as well as a few birthday gifts and such..."

"Well that's okay then honey, by the way I would like to introduce Mr. Logan, his wife Nodoka, and their children Ran Okami and Ukyo."

"The Logan? We are talking about the Wolverine right dear?"

"Yep that's me." Logan said wondering if anyone minded if he lit one up for a smoke.

"Oh thank you so much for saving my cousins life. You have chosen a very good man as your husband Nodoka." The other woman smiled. "The name is Er-bal Esaints." The Amazon had striking blue eyes and the main of red hair went down to the small of her back and seems to flow as she moved. To be completely honest Nodoka was a little jealous of this younger woman, probably no older than 20 and likely just recently married.

_"I wonder if anyone else feels this way?"_ Nodoka thought to herself seeing this woman's obvious beauty seemed to overshadow her own. Not that she wasn't still keeping herself very well put together, but the mere presents of this...shall we say newer model made her feel really inadequate.

Meanwhile in Japan...

_"Listen you vile woman Lord Tenchi is mine."_

_"Oh really princess? I think that you need a few more years on you before you could possibilly be considered anyone's. I mean look at you."_ Ryoko smiled edging the Jurian royalty on.

_"And what is wrong with my perfect figure?"_ Ayeka asked looking down at herself for a moment. _"I'll have you know that I am one of the most desired women in all of Juria."_

_"Then why don't you go back and leave Tenchi to me? 'Cus you obviously are not desired to be here!"_

_"You foul Demon Woman...I'll...I'll..."_ Ayeka growled while her temper flared as red as her face.

_"You'll what huh? I couldn't think of anything you could do, especially not grow a real woman's body."_ Ryoko smiled while putting her arms under her chest to emphasize her gifted developments.

_"That's it you Monster I'll..."_

_"Stop right there and apologize to one anther immediately." _A very upset female voice said from the doorway of the room.

_"Yes Lady Masaki."_ They groaned.

_"Good, now the two of you really need to stop bickering like spoiled children. Ayeka you are a princess of Juria and know better that to act so rude to another."_

Ayeka really hated this, it made her feel like school girl being disciplined by her mother.

_"And you Ryoko need to stop bringing up the fact that Washu made you a physically gifted young woman. It is unbecoming of you."_

Ryoko really didn't like this too much either. Tenchi's mother wouldn't let either of them get away with anything in her home.

Speaking of Tenchi he really was regretting not following his older cousin's advice about leaving well enough alone. Sure he learned that he too had a weird power, and was very Jedi-ish, if that was even a word, and now he too was in the company of good looking women...But he hated to be the focal point of such feminine bickering.

_"You know I sort of pity Ran Okami for going into a village probably filled with very physically aggressive women."_ Tenchi sweat-droped. _"Who are likely all built like these alien women..." _Silently he said a little prayer for his cousin and used his not-as-well practiced stealth training to silently escape from the immediate area.

_"Oh hey Tenchi, I'm glad I caught you. I wanted you to know that me and my partner just got transferred full time to this space sector. Isn't that wonderful?"_Mihoshi said taping Tenchi on the shoulder.

_"WA!! Mihoshi how did you do that?"_ Tenchi said jumping about three feet into the air, seriously here it is no joke.

_"Do what?"_Mihoshi asked blinking her eyes completely ignorant of what she did that upset the only person who treated her nicely.

_"Never mind Mihoshi, really. And glad to know that you and Kiyone will be around here more often."_ The teenaged prince sighed. "_Well at least she's not as violent as Ryoko or Ayeka. I can't even ask one of them out to a movie without either of them blowing their top." _Tenchi thought to himself while wishing that he could actually get one of these babes along long enough to at least get to lay his lips on one of theirs.

_"Well that's good to know. Say I'm not busy this weekend so I wanted to know if you wanted to go see a movie or something?"_ The blond smiled.

_"Well maybe, I don't know if Grandpa will have me doing something around the temple or not, but yea I'd love to go out with you on the weekend."_

_"Thank you so much Tenchi. See you later."_ Mihoshi smiled while walking outside smiling.

_"I wonder if James Bond ever had these problems?_ Tenchi though looking into space for a moment.

_"She is quite a lovely girl isn't she Tenchi?"_ A very dignified masculine voice said from behind.

_"Yea, still don't understand how she does what she does, but she seems to do it very well."_Tenchi said not at all fazed by his Grandfather's presence.

_"That is true of all women my boy. Now let us get ahead on your training."_

_"Uh Grandpa, this is my day off."_

_"And if you want the weekend off then guess who's going to be training?"_ The old Jurian smiled.

_"Damn." _Tenchi thought to himself.

Back in China, and adding several days to the story too, we find a large van making its way slowly towards the Amazon village having to drive through abandoned ox cart paths and overgrown livestock transportation paths.

"So bub how much longer to we have to deal with our fillings being knocked out?"Logan groaned as another bump shock the van violently.

"It shouldn't be too much longer. Uh honey when the last time that we used this way was?" The nameless official said to his wife.

"That would have to have been our honeymoon dear." Er-bal Esaints groaned with her head in her hand for a moment.

"You sure? I thought that we did this a least one other time."

"No the bridge was washed out and we had to backtrack over ten miles and walk the rest of the way." Er-bal said, really not wanting to remember. "And it's only about 5 miles from here."

Let us again change our perspective away from the Logan family and to a young girl with purple hair in a style that would likely be confused with one from Sailor Moon, or will likely be given a few years for the show to actually exist in our timeline.

"Great-Grandmother are you sure that they are going to be here today?" Xan Pu asked while balance training with five books on her head, a stick in each of her palms each holding up a plate that she had to keep spinning and a spoon balance at the end of her nose.

"I am most certain that the will be here my girl. Now concentrate on your balancing and we will stop in another..." Cologne pulled out an old pocket watch from within her robes and opened the lid with the press of a button. "Hum..."

"What is it Great Grandmother? Something wrong?"

"Yes this is most peculiar, most peculiar indeed...I had not expected this for several more months."

"Ah something is wrong then?"

"Yes very wrong and very troubling..."

"AH what is it? Some new disaster about to befall us?"

"Indeed child a very big disaster...my watch stopped."

One face fault right into the road, two fallen plates, and one big headache.

"How is that a disaster?" Xan Pu yelled.

"Have you ever tried to get batteries for anything out here? The one thing that I actually need them for and look..."

"My Great-Grandmother is insane." Xan Pu groaned as she picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off.

"Now child I think that it would be good if you were able to put your training equipment away for a while. We have guests."

"Ayia, you mean that Uncle Logan is here?"

"I'd give it another ten to twenty minutes my dear. They are talking with the guards right now."

Sure enough the Logan family was sitting waiting for the guards at the edge of the village to let them pass, if only because Er-bal was busy talking up a storm with some of her old friends that she hadn't seen in years. Did I forget to mention that had been a few YEARS since last she saw these friends.

"Well got to go. Cologne is likely waiting for us by now." Er-bal said as she pulled away from the gate in the now very muddy and slightly damaged van. She stopped at the edge of village and everyone got out.

_"Wow this place is beautiful." _Ukyo said stretching her legs from sitting down for hours.

_"Why thank you child. It is good to hear that someone finds our humble village appealing."_ A small wrinkled woman said while bouncing on a staff like it was a pogo-stick. "Ah Logan it has been a while since last we saw you. Welcome back to our village Wolverine."

"Nice to be back." Logan said while lighting up his cigar and shaking the match out. "Elder Cologne this is my wife Nodoka, my son Ran Okami, and our ward Ukyo."

"It is honor to meet you Cologne. Nodoka is sorry that her Chinese is not so good." Nodoka bowed while blushing at her own inability to speak her host's language properly.

_"It is alright my dear. Give it a while and you'll be able to speak our language just fine." _The elder said while jumping off from her staff. _"And I take it that your children are around your speaking ability as well?"_

Nodoka sighed and nodded.

_"Well then this will be a learning experience for you all then."_

"Ran Okami just have no one teach him too well." The young mutant scratched his head at his probably butchered sentence.

_"One moment please."_ "Xan Pu come and meet the rest of your family."

The girl that gracefully walked up to the Logan's was obviously very happy, and very cute.

"Uncle Logan it is so nice to see you." Xan Pu said wrapping her arms around the Canadians waist and trying to bury her face into him.

"Nice to see you too Xan Pu." Logan said rubbing the hair on the top of Xian's head like one would a pet dog or cat. "This is your Aunt Nodoka, and your cousins Ran Okami and Ukyo." Logan said as Xan looked around the group.

Nodoka was a very dignified lady with bright red hair and a very Amazon look to her. Obviously a warrior and likely a very skilled on if she had attracted the attention of her Uncle. As for Ran Okami; Xan couldn't help but notice that he was a very hansom young boy that had caught her eye. Okay so he was her cousin but that was unrelated to heredity. Ukyo was a very cute girl; probably the same age as herself and likely be the first true friend that Xan has made in a long time

_"Hello Shampoo welcome you to our village. Sorry Shampoo's Japan is not so good, been trying to learn weeks. Wanted to surprise you."_ The purple haired Amazon smiled.

"Ukyo want to say nice to meet you. Have same trouble with language you have."

This led to a series of giggling fits between the girls as they laughed at their own shortfalls.

Dawn, or at least that is what it was thought to be since the entire landscape seemed to be covered in an impenetrable fog.

"Now let us try again." Cologne could be heard saying as a loud smashing sound rang through the valley as something hard slammed into flesh.

"Ouch" Ran Okami said as he was hanging with only one finger to use trying to turn a boulder into a pile of rubble. "I don't know what's harder, the language lessons or this rock." He thought to himself as the chunk of solid Granite came for him again.

_"Logan-kun what exactly is going on here?"_ Nodoka asked as her husband they watched their son repeatedly get smashed but the large stone.

_"Breaking Point training. You get smashed with that thing until you focus your energy at the weak point of it and shatter the thing into pieces."_

_"Ah, did you ever do something like this?"_

_"Last time I was here love."_

"Oh that hurt." Wild Wolf groaned yet again being smashed by a rock.

_"By the way Logan-kun, Charles sent us a letter regarding Ukyo's father."_ Nodoka sighed. _"It is from a law office and you can guess what it entails."_ The woman began to cry, but kept herself in control of her external feelings

_"Nochan?"_

_"Sorry but you know that we see the girl as our own daughter and she..."_ Nodoka was almost choking on her words.

_Nochan she'll get through it. She'll be okay."_ Logan said wrapping his arms around his wife and letting her cry into his shoulder.

"Breaking Point!!" Ran Okami said thrusting his finger forward and the rock exploded leaving chunks of debris all over the ground. _"I DID IT!"_

"Very well done my boy. For someone to learn this in only a few hours is quite an accomplishment. Not unheard of to be honest, but still a very good job." Cologne smiled. She turned to see Ukyo remised at her obvious future, and to be honest it didn't look to nice.

"Shampoo sure that this is good thing?" Ukyo asked her new best friend, remembering that they used the other's language to help each other learn.

_"Ukyo need not worry. You do very well, but be honest is very painful."_ Ukyo really hoped that she had heard her friend wrong.

"How long it be before Ukyo do that?" The brunette asked the purple haired girl.

_"Unknown. Still have to find big big rock to use...May even be not for several hours."_

"Good. Ukyo like to just sit and talk with Shampoo."

_"Not that Shampoo mind, but what is it that Ukyo what to talk about?"_

"Why Shampoo just be with Ukyo? Have no other friends to talk to?" Ukyo asked completely bewildered.

_"Shampoo used to have many many friends. Was very, very popular for long time. Wish Ukyo could meet all of Shampoo's friends, but many not here anymore."_ Xan began to cry.

"Ukyo very very sorry. No meant to upset Shampoo."

_"Ukyo didn't know. Musk take some of friends Shampoo have, would be same if Uncle Logan not save me."_ Shampoo sighed looking into the ground. _"Also have big big problem with certain blind idiot."_

"Blind idiot?"

_"Mousse. Boy not know that Shampoo not love him. He insult Shampoo by constantly grabbing ones he think are Shampoo, can't see hands if front of face without glasses."_

"He may just love Shampoo and not think he looks good with glasses on?"

_"It not looks, Shampoo try to get idiot to understand he was friend, just friend. Shampoo just don't like him for future husband. He just don't leave Shampoo alone."_

"If that true where is he?"

_Shampoo knock out this morning. Always take time to return to land of living."_

"Shampoo didn't hurt him too badly did she?"

_"Shampoo not murder. Just use enough to knock out. Mousse have very hard head. Need to hit very hard to get through."_

Xan Pu and Ukyo got up as Cologne directed them to follow her and Ran Okami to a place chosen for burning camp fires.

"Come children we have to wait until another boulder has been collected before we can continue with Breaking Point training." Cologne ushered them with her staff.

_"Why is it that Ukyo and Ran Okami were such odd costumes when training?" _Xan Pu asked walking side by side with her cousin.

"Logan is member of X-Men, he and Ranchan mutants and that is uniform of X-Men."

_"X-Men? How can one be ex-man?"_

"It superhero team. Xavier-san is founder so it is X-Men. Like in comic books."

_"Ah. Makes since now."_

"Nodoka sorry to bother, but must speak with Ukyo for a moment. Please tell Great Grandmother so she know Ukyo not slacking." Nodoka said nearly crying.

_"Shampoo will Auntie. See you shortly Ukyo."_

_"Ukyo I have something to tell you..." _Nodoka said as the words died in her mouth leaving a lump in it.

_"What she means kid is that..."_ Logan finished as they took Ukyo aside and had her sit down for the worse news she was ever likely to hear.

"Um where Ukyo Shampoo?" Wild Wolf asked as he looked around and didn't see his "sister" anywhere.

_"Auntie Nodoka have to talk to Ukyo with Uncle Logan. She very upset. Please Great Grandmother don't be upset."_

"Of coarse not child. While we wait for her we'll get a heads start on out Chestnuts over Open Fire techniques."

"Uh it not Christmas yet Elder." Wild Wolf pointed out, only to get two face faults and a groan.

_"It have nothing to do with Christmas cousin. It speed training."_ Xan Pu said clutching her head in her hands.

"I never thought of that before he mentioned it to be honest. Very well now grasp a handful of nuts from that bag and throw it into the fire..."

It was a few hours before Ukyo made her way to the fire. Wild Wolf and Xan Pu were already way ahead of her and doing as well as expected. Xan had been able to do this for a long time now and it was more of a refresher course for her. Wild Wolf was about getting the hand of it since he didn't have to wait nearly as long between attempts with his healing ability repairing any burns he may have.

"Well child I hope that all is well?" Cologne said as she looked at the red and puffy-eyed face of the teen. "I see. Well if you don't think that you can concentrate enough to train I can understand if you need to do this tomorrow."

"Ukyo not worried, want to train. Ukyo need to train so not to think." The brunette said as she sat down and began to grab for the nuts.

The first few times she was too slow to do it without having her hand in the fire for several seconds, but she didn't stop to mend her hands. Again and again she thruster her hands into the blaze with the same result. Her fists were burning and her eyes were like torrents, but she didn't stop.

"Child enough. You can not focus and need to stop before you hurt yourself." Cologne said as Ukyo looked down at her scorched hands.

_"It no no do Ukyo any good to continue."_

_"Yea Uchan you need to stop."_ Wild Wolf said trying to comfort his best friend.

Crying in pure unadulterated rage she thrust her hands in one more time. But it didn't burn. The fire didn't seem to feel like it was there. Looking on in amazement the four felt the temperature in the air around them seem to drop around Ukyo as the fire seemed to be pulled to her.

_"What? What is...?"_ Before Ukyo could complete her train of thought, the entire fire seemed to leap into her, and die in her hands. _"What is happening to me!?!"_ Ukyo cried as the fire blazed anew and even more brilliant than before as two large balls of flame exploded skyward like a volcanic eruption which leapt to several feet in the air and exploded knocking Ukyo back several feet and unconscious.

"Ah Great-Grandmother what happen?" Xan Pu asked as she knelt beside her cousin and tried to get a response from her.

_"Ran Okami get your parents now."_ Cologne commanded. "Xan Pu I want you to run to the town healer and get her immediately." The Elder's orders were followed with all due haste.

Ukyo awoke with a numb feeling coming from her hands and a stabbing pain in her head.

"Well it seems my patient is awake. How are you feeling?" The healer asked. She was a very nice looking woman of early thirty or late twenties with brown hair and a maternal warm feeling to her.

_"My head hurts, what happened last night?"_

_"Sorry but my Japanese isn't so good. You hurt yourself with very bad burns and scared us all when you passed out."_ The woman's said looking over the not wrapped hands of the little girl, gently checking them and hearing the whimpers of Ukyo. _"They be alright soon. Much worse than usual burns for first time trying this training, but they will be good as new in a little while."_

The door silently opened as two teenagers walked in and tried their best to avoid being spotted.

_"You have guests."_ The healer smiled as she saw two very embarrassed young people right behind her. "You two were pretty good in the stealth moving, but I know everything that happens in my house."

"Sorry Healer, but we needed to know how Ukyo was doing." Xan Pu said feeling for all the world like a little child having been caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

"Well your cousin is just fine Xan Pu, and you can stay for a few minutes. The same goes for you Ran Okami." The healer smiled. She was impressed with the scene of devotion that these two had for their family member.

Xan had very few friends left and it was obvious that the ones she had she held close to her heart. Logan's son was quite a handsome young man and it was obvious that that he would likely attract a whole lot of attention from the local girls around here. This she thought would mean that more girls would get to be around Xan Pu and once they get to know her they wouldn't ostracize her as much.

"Thank you Healer Ru Gan." Xan Pu said bowing before smiling at Ukyo. Ran Okami followed suite.

_"Hey sis how's it going?"_ Ran Okami asked making Ukyo smiled a little.

_"It hurts, but I'll be fine. How long was I out?"_

_"You were out for about two days Ukyo. We didn't know what happened but we were so worried about you."_ Xan Pu said, shocking Ukyo.

"Shampoo sure it only two days?" Ukyo said wondering at how her cousin had advanced so much in so little time.

_"I said I didn't have anyone to really sit down and teach me. Great Grandmother's training so hard that I just want to be away from her after a few hours."_ Xan Pu said smiling.

_"That makes since. So where is Auntie and Logan-sensei?" _Ukyo asked looking around.

_"They went to the radio contacting Xavier-san. They got a call saying that Cerebro picked up a new mutant in the area. Just we don't have to look far huh."_ Ran Okami joked. Ukyo wasn't laughing too much.

_"Ukyo what's wrong? You were very upset last we saw you and we never got to here what was wrong." _Xan Pu said changing the subject.

_"It's my father..."_ Ukyo began to cry as she sat up.

_"What is wrong with Uncle Logan?"_ Xan Pu asked worried.

_"Logan-san isn't my father. My dad sent me to train with him. I always thought it was because Logan was such a good fighter and Ranchan was about the only friend I had in the world. Now...now I learn that it was because he was dieing and he's gone."_ Ukyo cried into the sheets.

_"I mean finally we were a family again. He laughed, hugged my like I was his little girl again. He treated me like a human being not a weight around his neck to be hated. And now he's gone forever. I'll never see him again."_ Ukyo's tears stained the silt bedding. She felt the weight of two pairs of arms around her neck and shoulders. She felt the warmth of the two closest things she had to siblings in the entire world and the world felt at least partially right again.

Next Chapter:

_"Hey Ukyo we finally got the boulder."_ Xan Pu smiled.

_"Let's just hope that it doesn't go as bad as the Chestnut Training." _Cologne sighs.

_"Hey is this things supposed to stop on my finger?"_ Ukyo asks out of camera.

_"Never mind."_

That's right more Amazon fun, secondary mutation, and Mouse makes himself known.

(1) Just used him for this bit I'm not planing on using him anywhere else, but if somebody gives me a good suggestion I may use Ryouga in some other part of my story.

Author's notes: Thank you for continuing to like my story, and to offer helpful comments. However, I have to say that there will be certain about of OOC here due to events not occurring which would have let to IC conditions for those in my stories. Also I will be adding a few Side stories sometime to explain why Tenchi's mom is still alive and a few other things. Also I am looking for original character pairing ideas, not for Ran Okami I already have him planned, but for other characters that may get crossed over for this fic. I will again reiterate that there is no transgender curses for any of the Logan family males, not in this story ever. If you have suggestions please send them in the review section or send me a message. Finally I do have one request, if you who read this story could please read and review my Harry Potter and the Half Bloods story I would appreciate it.


	9. Chapter 9

Through the Years Chapter 9

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and anyother Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's

Days had passed since Ukyo had found herself laid up with burns up and down her hands and arms and confined to bed to treat for dehydration and exhaustion. The brunette's shocking pyrotechnics had forced the locals to look upon her with a certain level of uncertainty, just waiting for another uncontrolled outburst of flames, like volcanologists awaiting the inevitable eruption.

It was not an unwarranted response to the rather unorthodox event, but it still hurt one's feelings to have such an overwhelming development in life combined with the heart wrenching news of one's family dying. It is then easy to see why the brown eyes of the 16 year old mutant where as red as her burns had been.

"Its not fair." Ukyo said with the remainder of tears still flowing down her face. She rubbed the exposed tips of her fingers over the bandages on her palms and back of her hands. To be honest the wounds weren't that bad, just very sore and raw from when the flames first touched them; adrenaline can numb a very large amount of pain when needed.

"Life never is kid, especially to us." Logan said with his cigar clutched between his teeth. He scrapped the match against the side of the box and held up his hand to block the cold early morning wind from blowing out the flame. The sliced end of the Cuban touched the yellow light and Logan exhaled, drawing the flame up into the leaves. When done, he waved the match to put it out and walked up to his "daughter".

"Yea I guess so." Ukyo said as she held her knees to her chest and sighed. "Logan-san have you ever lost someone in your life?" Ukyo asked as the closest thing to a father she had left in the world sat down next to her.

"More than I can remember kid, and trust me it don't get any easier no matter how many leave you." Logan said as he blew a smoke ring into the mist rising off of the valley below. Fortunately the valley below was all farm land and miles away from any cursed springs.

"So is that why you are as abrasive as sandpaper at times?" Ukyo asked trying to crack a joke, just trying to take her mind off the stone-like lump she felt inside her.

"Probably one of the reasons, but I do my best not to think about it kid." Logan said as he looked out over the mountains with the sun rising in the east. "It's a hard life for those like us kid, and don't expect everyone to have sympathy for you. Hell if you get passing acceptance your doing aces.." Logan took a moment to take another drag and get his thoughts in order. "But we got each other, and if need be that's enough. X-Men or not kid you're family and you know that you can trust us with anything." Logan said as he draped his arm over Ukyo's shoulder.

Comforted by the warmth of paternal love, Ukyo snuggled against Logan's leather jacket and felt the rock-solid muscles underneath. Placing her own arm behind Logan's back, Ukyo looked out at the sunrise and smiled. "Its very beautiful isn't it Logan-san?"

"I'm not one for poems kid, but I'll be here as long as you need me." Logan said as he patted Ukyo's shoulder.

It was about 10 in the morning when Ukyo was seen walking down the road leading to where Cologne had a rock dangling from a long, taught rope.

"I would advise that we do not attempt to try anything involving fire just yet young one." the matriarch said as Ukyo stretched her limbs, feeling them once again become more limber and the stiffness of being KO'ed leaving her.

"Sounds like a plan to me elder." Ukyo said, not wanting to set the village on fire or anything. "So how long should this take?" The recently realized mutant asked as she got herself situated in the other rope.

"It is different for each person who tries it. Some can learn it in one try, for others it has been known to take weeks. What is important is for you to focus on the weakest point of the stone and force it to explode." Cologne tapped the end of her pipe and knocked out the remains of yesterday's tobacco before replacing it and lighting the end.

"So where's Ranchan and Xan Pu today elder?" Ukyo said before the last check to make sure that everything was in order before letting the stone go through it's pendulem course.

"They are busy training elsewhere. Right now I will be personally training you to ensure that you can soon go back to training with them. Since you can not go back to New York at the present time, we must be very careful that you learn at least some control over your mutant powers." Cologne said as she was about to let the rock fly. "Now clear your mind of everything except the rock and thrust your finger at the stone before it slams into you. Remember concentrate on your energy."

With a single slice of a concealed knife, the heavy chunk of mountain granite swung down to Ukyo, held at the base of the pendulum 's ark. With near lightning speed the brunet thrust her finder forward at the specked grey igneous mass with all thoughts directed toward released her internal energy's to obliterate the rock, her eyes had been closed so that she could focus even harder.

She waited for it, and waited and waited. Not feeling or hearing anything for several seconds, Ukyo opened her eyes to see that the rock had stopped right at the end of her finger.

Cologne was shocked to say the least. She had felt a the temperature drop in Ukyo's direction when the girl had closed her eyes and started to focus her energies. Then when the rock had inexplicably stopped, the elder had noticed that Ukyo's body had seemingly increased in size with all proportions entacked.

"Uh elder what's going on?" Ukyo blinked several times in complete amazement as to what was just transpired.

"I do not know child, but I believe that we have just witnessed your powers once more." Cologne thought for a moment as she contemplated her next course of action. "Ukyo I want to try this again, and try to do exactly what you did a moment ago."

Ukyo was astonished that such a small and very aged woman could so effortlessly move that heavy rock, and had developed a sweatdrop behind her head.

"Ready child?" the elder said holding the line for the rock as close to where it was originally set as possible.

"Ready elder." Ukyo smiled as she prepared herself once more for the incoming projectile.

Once again the rock stopped right on the young mutant's finger and again her body altered in response to the impact. This time however, Ukyo's muscles had become larger, and more defined.

Ukyo was now clenching her eyes shut and shaking her head in distress. "Elder can we stop please." Ukyo said. "I'm feeling like my body's trying to explode."

"Just one more thing and we can stop." Cologne said while setting herself in place. "This time child I want you to use your fist and smash this boulder with all that you have."

"Are you sure elder?" Ukyo said having difficulty concentrating.

"Absolutely. NOW STRIKE!!" Cologne released her hold on the rope while Ukyo thrust her fist forward. The force of the impact completely obliterated the rock. From a distance one would easily mistake the attack for the breaking point technique, but this was not at all related.

Releasing Ukyo from her bonds, Cologne surveyed the damage that this one teenager had done. The breaking point technique is very specific in its damage, and gives a signature feel to its destruction. The Breaking Point technique works by someone trained in it's art using his or her Ki or Chi to sever the rock along it's cleavage plans and thus takes the least amount of energy to do the job.

"So did I do it elder?" Ukyo asked as she looked at the pieces of rubble that she had made.

"Sorry child but you certainly did not, nor do I think that you ever will use the breaking point." Cologne said disappointed.

"But I did what you told me...please give me another chance." Ukyo pleaded.

"My dear no matter how many times you try, you will never learn the technique. It is not that you are not trying nor disciplining yourself, but you apparently absorb energy as your mutant power."

"Absorb energy elder?" Ukyo asked while scratching the back of her head.

"Indeed child." Cologne said as she placed her hand on Ukyo's back and lead her along the path to the rest of her family. "When you first displayed your ability I, along with everyone else, assumed that you were a fire manipulator of some kind." Cologne smiled as she explained to the girl as a teacher who was proud of a student's question.

"I sort of thought that myself elder."

"But it seems that your gift is far more reaching. You seem to be able to adsorb, amplify, then redirect energy in the form that you absorbed it." Cologne said as the two women worked themselves down the long and winding road.

"What do you mean amplify elder?" The brunette asked befuddled.

"You could not have destroyed that boulder with the energy of only two releases of that much mass. Nor could you have made such enormous fireballs if only the flame of one campfire. To do these things you must somehow be able to increase the energy that you absorb before you can release it."

"No offence elder, but how do you know so much about this?" Ukyo asked.

"You think that just because we are isolated from most of the world that we do not keep up with advances in science and mathematics?"

"Sorry elder." Ukyo bowed embarrassed.

"Besides I happen to have a great-grandson with a doctorate in nuclear physics who works with this type of thing everyday. I had to learn this stuff just to keep up with him." Ukyo was now wondering if there was a geologist in the family, they could tell her what dirt she was tasting from her face fault.

"Now let us not keep them waiting child, we still have work to do." Cologne smiled as she merrily hopped along on her cane.

Ran Okami was lying on his back with his arms limp wondering how much more punishment his body could take, Xan Pu was in the same boat.

"My legs feel like re-fried rubber bands." the Wild Wolf complained as he was almost hyperventilating.

"Tell me about it cousin." The purple haired Amazon said turning her head to her closest male friend in the world. "I haven't been this tired in months."

"Good, that means that your train'ns work'n." Logan smiled as he Popped the joints in his hands and neck.

"Logan-kun I believe that Ukyo has decided to join us for lunch." Nodoka smiled as the forms of her adopted daughter and the village elder came down the path, and from the look of Ukyo's dirty face her training was no less harsh than those of the other teens.

"Hey Aunty, sorry it took so long we..." before Ukyo could finish her sentence, she felt an unfamiliar sensation around her middle with hands grabbing all over her chest.

"Oh my darling Shampoo I love you so much, please say that you will marry me." A young male's voice said from behind the brunette, who was getting royally pissed off at this point.

"Take this you F&()($G RAT BASTARD!!!" Ukyo screamed as she smashed Mut Zu in the head with her spatula, wanting very much to have the stored-up energy from earlier to release on this jackass of the first degree's head.

"Ukyo..." Nodoka said rushing over to her daughter.

"I know Aunty I should watch my language." Ukyo slumped her shoulders.

"Language Smanguage, are you alright?" Nodoka asked.

"Yea, except that this jackass doesn't seem to know the meaning of personal space." Ukyo said pointing to the form of Mousse who was gathering his senses after this point.

"Hey your not my darling Shampoo..."

"I never said I was you..."

"Your chest is way to small..." Mousse continued setting his glasses in place while seemingly ignoring Ukyo's comments. "And your figure is all wrong for the absolute beauty that is Shampoo."

"You SON OF A BIT..." Ukyo was not in a fit of rage smashing the male into the ground with all the might she had. Ran Okami and Xan Pu were both about to unleash Holy Heck as well for the insult to their sister, but they were stopped by Logan's hands holding them back.

"Just let the grown-ups deal with this kids."

"Ukyo I think that he is now unconcious." Cologne said tapping the girl's shoulder with her cane.

"Sorry, should we do anything for him?" Ukyo asked looking down at the bloody mess that was Mousse.

"I am sorry to say that brain transplants are impossible." Cologne sighed. "This is Mousse, the village idiot of the tribe who for years had made it painfully obvious that he is in love, or at least infatuated, with your cousin. Believe me if knocked some sense into him it would be great, but no need to kill him, yet." Cologne said.

"I apologize on behalf of the entire village to you Ukyo, and to your entire family Logan. I did not expect such acts from any of my tribe."

"It is alright Cologne, we will make it very clear to this young man that such acts will not be acceptable in the future..." Nodoka said as she whipped out her katana and polished it with a cloth.

"One way or the other." Logan finished the sentence with a snarl and a look that Ran Okami had only seen when his Pop had dealt with Genma that one time.

The days went on in their usual fashion; training, meals, more training, exploring the countryside, training, learning the ways of the native people and gaining a deep respect for them, training, beating the snot out of one myopic moron, did I mention that they trained a lot.

Said training was not without its rough points however,

"Alright kid try it again." Logan said as Ran Okami lunged towards his father once again.

The younger Logan's fist went towards the older's face, only to miss as Wolverine ducked under it and used a sweep kick to try and knock his son to the ground. Ran Okami jumped up avoiding the kick and attempted to use a flash kick on his father's temple. Wolverine easily grabbed the outstretched leg and tossed his son effortlessly across the training ground. Wild Wolf curled his body in mid-flight and, twisting, landed with all four of his limbs on the ground.

"Okay Pops lets try that again." Ran Okami grinned and gabbed his index finger into the ground.

"Traveling Breaking Point!" the younger mutant cried as the earth opened up and exploded where his old man had been standing.

"Come on kid try something I haven't seen." Logan smiled as he rolled away from the explosion before it hit.

"Come and get it Pops." Wild Wolf cried as he sliced one of the barriers located throughout the training field. Strangely it didn't seem to do anything, and Wolverine was coming fast.

At a precise moment Ran Okami slammed into the ground with the sole of his boot. The barrier slide along the cut line's surface and fell right onto Logan.

"You had something like that in mind Sir?" Ran Okami smirked.

"That was good kid, real good." Logan smiled at his son's ingenuity. "But you still have a lot to learn." Logan did a push-up which knocked the wooden plank into the air, did a hand spring and kicked the barrier right into his son's face, sending him back several feet.

"Ah man I thought I had you that time." Ran Okami gripped as his old man picked him up.

"Don't sweat it kid, you did real good." Logan said slapping his son on the back. "What was that anyway?"

"Master Snake-Eyes subtle cut. He taught me that true subtlety was reminding the opponent that they've been hit."

"Good to see your taking your lessons to heart cub. Now take a shower and take a breather, you earned it." Logan said as the teen made his way to the baths. An amassing group of females seemed to be following him, waiting to see this new male without his shirt.

"Alright Ukyo you and Xan Pu in the ring." Logan called to two of the girls chatting in the stands. As the healer had guessed, the arrival of Xan's cousins had given a definite change to the way the future matriarch's peers treated her.

As the three teens were very hard to separate, those females who had become attracted to the teenage Logan had to try and get along with Xan and Ukyo as well. Those who did try discovered that Xan Pu wasn't that hard to be around, and it wouldn't hurt if she remembered who her friends where when she became a matriarch.

The boys were actually intimidated by Wild Wolf at first. Even thought all the males of the village were trained to fight, they were not as good as the females on average due to normal genetic adaptations to a mostly isolated genetic pool with a odd gender ratio. Since most of the children born into the tribe were female, and the females had been trained and bred to fit the role of combatants, the males who did not attempt to learn to fight had begun the slow and steady flow into the less notable positions in the tribe many generations ago. These less physical roles sometimes led to more mental ones such as scientists and mathematicians, and of course just the physical act of breeding new generations.

With such a limited nitch of males in the local region, and not counting the vile Musk whose male animal/human hybrids were the most accused enemies of the Amazons and would abduct females of their tribe to turn into breeding cows for the Musk's armies, it was common for these girls to find men from other lands attractive, and even better when the males in question were capable fighters. The source of the laws governing outsider males and marriage laws may never be known, but all of the leading theories considered these ideas.

"Xan, Ukyo you two know the rules; anything goes here except killer and permanent damaging blows." Cologne said as she brought up her cane and dropped it down at the edge of the ring.

Xan Pu swung a wide upward arch with her left club trying to catch Ukyo's leg. Ukyo jabbed her spatula into the ground and used it like a quarterstaff to lift herself out of the path of her foe's weapon and tried to use both of her feet to slam her cousin's face. The continuing path of both fighters made them miss each other by a hair's breath. Ukyo landed and brought her battle spatula around, spinning it around in several circles before holding it behind her back with the head pointing laterally across. Xan Pu had to do a spin-hop to her left side before jumping into a more defendable position.

Ukyo grabbed a handful of mini-spatulas in on hand and threw them towards her opponent. Xan tossed her clubs into the air before using the reflex speed of the Chestnuts technique to grab the projectiles and return them in mid-flight towards Ukyo. Ukyo used her battle spatula as a bat and knocked the incoming targets away, and causing Xan's clubs to be knocked several feet out of reach of the purple-haired Amazon. Before Xan could more, Ukyo tossed her large spatula like a spear and nearly hit her cousin in the stomach, had Xan not jumped and spread her legs to avoid her hit.

"This fight is better than I had expected Ukyo."

"Your good yourself Sugar, but how do you handle flour." Ukyo smirked.

"Flour?" Xan asked as the battle field became a sea of white power. Cough Cough "What is this?"

"What do you think?" Ukyo said as Xan felt a sharp jab to her side and to her face. The unseen foe caused Xan to stumble back a bit, trying to reclaim her footing, which gave way right in reach of her club.

"AAAAHIA!" Xan said as she she caught Ukyo next fist with the edge of her weapon's head and moved her opponent into and arm grab with he staff part of the club at Ukyo's neck.

"You have fought well cousin, but this fight is mine."

"Says who?" Ukyo said stepping on Xan's foot and throwing her head back, smacking Xan in the face. Xan stumble back as Ukyo tried to execute a roundhouse on her, only to have herself bumbled with several fast strikes from the club. Ukyo was able to absorb the force of some of the hits, and laid a vicious haymaker on Xan, who twisted from the hit and caught Ukyo in the temple sending her to the ground.

They awoke several hours later in bed.

"Ouch. Cousin where did you learn to hit so hard." Xan asked, thankful for the invention of pain killers.

"My mutant power, sorry. I absorb energy acting on me, amplify it, and release it elsewhere. It hurts if I hold too much in, and I have to think about it to use it. But you really did a number on me sugar."

"Yes, I am surprised that you blinded me for several seconds. Usually I am very good at avoiding such traps."

"Hey you beat my spatula throws, so I would say that we are even." Ukyo really wished that she had some morphine, but the healer had said that it was addictive and that acupuncture was a better remedy. Ukyo just thought that it was additional pain in the ass.

"I'd shake your hand on that, if mine wasn't in a splint." Xan joked, and winced a moment later from pain.

"Your lucky, mine's in a cast from my twisted wrist." Ukyo smiled.

After several days of rest and recuperation, we find several people outside enjoying a meal.

"Ukyo, forgive my asking but why is it that you did not return home to bury your father after you got the letter?" Xan Pu asked one day during a picnic with a group of others the same age.

"Because he had himself buried before I got the letter, had it all set up so that I didn't have to do anything."

"That's very sad." An infatuated gray-haired male Amazon named Ste Al said as he passed Ukyo another drink.

"Yea it sort of is sugar, thanks." the blush on the male's face was about the same color as his hair. "But when we get back to New York Professor Xavier said that we could have a funeral for him."

"That's very nice of him." Xan Pu said, not knowing what exactly to say at that moment.

Changing the topic quickly, Xan Pu asked Ukyo "Did you notice that ever since you came here that we just seem to be very Popular?"

"Men go figure. I think that they just have good taste." Ukyo smiled, which caused Xan to smiled in a mutually devious manner.

"I agree very much cousin. And I suspect that is why the girls all seem to have a thing for your brother." A few feet away from the conversing cousins we do find Wild Wolf in the midst of very attractive young ladies who all seem fixated on him. This would have gotten the males jealous, but them seemed to have fallen under the spell of Ukyo and Xan Pu's looks, along with a growing group of friends of theirs who now were seated around Ran Okami, who was becoming very uneasy.

"Oh come on, please show us your claws again." A very bubblely blond named Shu Gar, who was showing off her well built legs coming out from the end of her short dress, asked.

"Please...pretty please." A younger long red haired, well red with black stripes in it, girl named Pepar Mint begged. . Truth of the matter was that she was a Burmese Weretigress who hadn't yet perfected the art of shape-shifting. Uncommon, but not unheard of amongst the Amazon tribe.

Pepar Mint's mother was one of the fiercest warriors in the tribe, and had made it very clear that she had desired Logan back when both he and she were single. But her having no idea about romancing men outside knocking one over the head or being knocked over the head, she settled down with a guy who knocked her out in a bar fight. She was very drunk though and the matter of whether it was the high level of tequila or the happenstance right hook was never finally decided. At this point it didn't matter so everyone seemingly dropped it.

"Okay, okay. I don't know what is so fascinating about this but okay." Ran Okami sighed as once again three bone claws flashed from the back of his hands causing all those gathered to look on in amazement.

Strange thing was that as the girls had gotten closer Wild Wolf felt an odd intuitive sensation about them. He could feel the level of their fighting ability, their weapons preferences, and his even sensed the abilities and even the look of Pepar Mint's hybrid form. It was like a radar dish had been put in the back of his head and it worked even on those that where behind him.

"Wow those are so cool." A blue haired Amazon, a few years the Wild Wolf's senior exclaimed as she examined the claws closely.

"Ah come on here, they're not that special." Ran Okami blushed under the affectionate gazes of those around him.

"But the are so different from mine." Pepar Mint said as she looked over her fingers, wanting very much to rub her scent over the Wild Wolf's body, finding his almost irresistible. Get a grip here people she's a werecat and this is how cats greet one another.

"Want to see who's are better?" Pepar Mint's smiled getting closer.

"Hey back off little cub I was here first." A very feisty raven haired Amazon named Licar Ish chided her friend while positioning herself between the weretigeress and the mutant male.

"Isn't this nice Logan?" Nodoka smiled from a few feet away. "Our manly son has so many female admirers we'll be grandparents before you know it."

"Darlin' give the kid a break he's still a kid." Logan just rolled his eyes.

"I know, but a mother can dream can't she?" Nodoka smiled a very devious smile thinking of all the wonderful grandbabies to spoil.

Ran Okami was not enjoying himself too much however. Like any teenage male he was interested in girls, but this was getting to be too much for his level of comfort.

"Look I really got to go, so I'll see you later right?"

"Oh please stay with us." Shu Gar begged as the foreign male was trying to politely walk off.

"Come on Shu Gar if he has to go then he has to go." Licar Ish chided her compatriot, thinking that the mutant needed to use the head or something and would be right back. After all who could avoid one with her looks for long.

Wild Wolf didn't waste a moment and quickly exited to the back of the trees to put some distance between himself and his pursuers. Once out of sight, the young Logan leapt from branch to branch using every trick in his arsenal to put some distance between himself and a rather uncomfortable situation.

"That was way to close for comfort." Ran Okami said as he leaned against the side of a tree and whipped his brow. His comfort level dropped sharply as his nose picked up a new familiar scent and his ears focused on the sound of claws digging into the hard bark of the tree.

"You do know that we werecats love to climb trees right?" Pepar Mint said as she made her way up the branches with unnatural grace and ease. Her predatory eyes focused on her prey.

"Ah nuts." Ran Okami groaned.

"Hey girls he's up here!" The weretigress called to the gathering hoard several feet below.

"Got to go." Wild Wolf yelped as he jumped from the branch he was standing one, and used his claws to swing himself on another branch.

"This is fun." Pepar Mint said as he chased after him, unconsciously converting to hybrid form along the way.

"Speak for yourself." Likar Ish said just trying to keep up. "Who is this male? Tarzan?"

Wild Wolf was begging for some place to hide, at least for the moment. But everywhere that he ducked and covered, something would go wrong and the chase was on again.

"Come on come on your better than this." Wild Wolf chided himself as he wished to be invisible for just a moment, and...

"Hey were did he go?" Shu Gar asked as the girls stopped their chase.

"Ah this stinks." another Amazon said kicking the tree.

"Hey Peppermint do you know where he got off to?" Likar Ish asked

"No, I can smell or hear him or anything." the weretigeress said, embarrassed by this change of events.

And were was the Wild Wolf you ask? Right in front of them, completely undetectable.

"What in the heck happened to me?" Wild Wolf asked aloud, but none of the girls reacted to it, as if he did even exist. This moment was broken as a slight misstep made the young mutant instantly reappear as he went falling down to earth.

"Catch him." Shu Gar cried as the newest male interest in her life seemed to be falling to his doom. Fortunately Wild Wolf had regained his thoughts.

"Ah shit." Wild Wolf flipped in mid-air and caught the branch with his bent legs. Using the momentum from the fall the was pulled across the branch so that he sat down on top of it. Once he felt comfortable enough to move, Ran Okami lifted himself up off the branch with his arms and aimed for a lower extension of the tree. By using the descending limbs of the tree to shorten his fall, the teenager was able to prevent the exceedingly minor annoyance of broken bones, twisted limbs, or other such injuries.

"Man what a rush." Wild Wolf had to take a moment to caught his breath before dusting himself off and waving to the females above.

"How did he do that?" Likar Ish asked to no one in particular.

"Who knows, maybe we can get him to tell us when we get back to the village?"

"Hey Wild Wolf, how about we just go back to the village? It's getting late." Shu Gar called to the mutant below.

Wild Wolf had to agree with that comment as the sun was now dipping to the west and the temperature was dropping with it.

"Sure, fine, whatever. You girls want to make it a race or something?"

"That's a great idea."

"First Amazon back to the village gets to cook for the hunk." Shu Gar said about to run

"Now wait just a freaking moment here Shu Gar," an annoyed pink haired Amazon said. "You know that I'm the best cook here."

"Oh yea I dare you to prove it." the blond growled as the level of conflict grew.

"I will, after I win this race." the girl didn't waste a second as she made her way back to home

"Oh like Hell you will." another female cried above as the amassed Amazons demonstrated their ability to impersonate the Lord of the Jungle's wife. Wild Wolf just took his time going back to the village as he wanted to be as far away from that hornets nest as possible.

"Why me?" Wild Wolf groaned.

About ten minutes later the Logan kid was walking into his "home" for the duration of his stay with the Amazons.

"Hey mom, hey Pop I'm back. Sorry to keep you waiting but I sort of had some trouble getting away from a couple of very friendly girls who seemed to be attracted to me for some reason."

"Kid...look up." the head of the Logan clan said to his son.

Complying, Ran Okami had only one thing to say. "Good grief."

Yes true believers the Logan nest was now occupied by various women who had no real reason for staying other than to attempt their limited romancing abilities on the intriguing foreigner.

"I thought only James Bond had women throw themselves at him." Ukyo said looking at the company who had come for dinner, company who had brought dishes with them too.

"U-chan where's mom." Ran Okami groaned as he had to sit down.

"In the back giving relationship advice to the woman trying to woe you bro." Ukyo just smiled teasingly. "You know things like your favorite meal, color, likes and dislikes...also she's trying to screen out the jealous types or the ones who want to wait for marriage before sex, and the ones who don't want kids..."

"She's not serious is she Pop?"

"Don't sweat it cub she's just kidd'n yea, but not by much." Logan slapped his son on the back and went to wash up for dinner.

True to form Nodoka had made a list of the available girls in the village for her son, with names, ages, likes, dislikes, height, hair color, and measurements. The last thing on the list almost cause the Wild Wolf to faint, which had several of those on the list clambering to take care of his every need, not indicating if they were going to stop after he was better again.

"Mom, what the heck were you thinking?" Wild Wolf had to cry aloud as his mom was doing the whole routine with the fans again.

"Just thinking of your happiness dear. I thought that this would be a perfect time for you to built positive experiences in female relations." In other words she wanted him to go out and see if any of these women interest you and get down to making me grandbabies, as soon as you're and adult.

"What?" Wild Wolf looked at her like a monkey being explained the Uncertainty Principle of velocity and location.

Sad to say that this happy, if slightly insane, time in the Logan family's life was about to be shattered like a bullet throw the night air.

Several feet outside the Amazon encampment, a man dressed in white and red was looking observing them with a hawkish gaze. If any of you readers think for a second that this was old Saint Nick, forget it.

Garbed in white from head to toe, with a big red hooded serpent on his back, Storm Shadow had been stalking the Logan's for weeks now. Always in the area, but far enough that he evaded detection, the agent of Cobra had caught up with the Logan's some time after they had reached the outer edge of the village and had been keeping a detailed observation of them.

A master in all things dealing with stealth and secrecy, Storm Shadow had been able to go undetected by all of the regions inhabitance. But the elder's of the village had show themselves to be very observant of their territory. He had nearly be caught once and that once may have very well been his last. Fortunately for this shadow warrior, Cobra had developed the most sophisticated binoculars and covert listening devices outside the free world. Now, out of the range of Ki or Chi enhanced elders, Storm Shadow had almost free reign to spy on the locals and to report back to Cobra Commander on the progress of his mission.

"Storm Shadow to Cobra Mountain, Storm Shadow to Cobra Mountain." He called over a small high-frequency transmitter. The encoded signal traveled undetected to a satellite high in orbit. The satellite had been launched as a new GPS location device for the civilian market by a big new technology firm called ORBCA Industries. Most people didn't give much head to this, little realizing the fact that it was actually a front for something far more sinister.

The signal was relayed back down to earth, passing through clouds and sky while going deep into the mountains of Tibet as the image closes in on a deep and secluded valley; guarded on all sides by steep and virtually impenetrable mountains with winds coming so fast over their tops that flying in is impossible. The engineers and technicians had to physically drill a network of tunnels running from this base to secret landing platforms and roads in far more hospitable areas.

The communication's screen of one Viper flashed red as the message arrived

"Commander, we are receiving an encoded message from Storm Shadow."

"Most excellent." The blue mask covering Cobra Commander's head and face billowed slightly as the cold hearted terrorist chuckled. "Put him on the main screen."

As per their leader's order, the Tech Viper pressed a series of buttons which caused a massive steel snake's head to lower itself from the ceiling and open it's enormous jaws.

"Storm Shadow to Cobra Commander; I have continued my observations as per your orders."

"Wonderful. What news do you have as to the Logans?" the vile mastermind said holding his chin in thought.

"They have apparently allied themselves with the warriors of this remote village...Incredibly powerful warriors at that." Storm Shadow paused before continuing. "This territory is the home of one of three tribes of massively powerful warring states. Though fighting with weapons from more feudal times, all three of these tribes are dangerous beyond measure if provoked."

"I see, and what are these tribes and are they a threat to us?" The Commander inquired.

"The first one, to which the Logans have alliances, is a tribe of Amazon warriors led buy an elite cast of elder, most powerful warriors. The next is a tribe of what can be best described as 'animal-men' called the Musk. The average warrior within this tribe has limited intelligence but they are led by a ruler who holds great amounts of mental, physical, and even magical abilities named Herb."

"Your joking" Cobra Commander deadpanned.

"Sir if you heard half the names here then you would be on the floor laughing, but yes it is true." Storm Shadow sighed. "The last tribe I have hear of only in passing and their lands are far outside the observation region. As to them being a threat to Cobra, the answer is that they pose no foreseeable threat as they are very isolated and self-contained. The world has essentially passed these people by."

"Excellent report Storm Shadow. Continue observations on the Logans and set remote observation pods and devices as close to these warriors as possible, if they are as formidable as you say, then perhaps we can use something from them against the Joes." Cobra Commander cried elated.

"By your word Commander, it shall be done. But I will need additional aid to do this in such a short time." Storm Shadow answered.

"Firefly is behind Joe bars still, it will be another week before we can break him out...Destro are Slice and Dice doing anything of importance?"

"Not at the moment Commander, I can have them ready in three hours with the latest in spying technology, curtsey of our...naturalist corporation..." Destro had to chuckle at the thought that seemingly legitimate enterprises were in reality devising new and better ways to conquer the world, and some not even knowing it.

"Very good Destro. I want to know everything about these people. The Logans have taken much from me, and I will not be caught off guard by them or those like them again." Cobra Commander laughed as he dismissed Storm Shadow and the screen died.

Next time on Through the years:

Sorrow, suffering, and treachery follow our young warriors back from China.

Author's notes:

Sorry it took so long to do this chapter, but I've had a lot on my plate and didn't have much time to work on this. Please stay with my I am still working on this and hopefully will do so still until this thing is done, which won't be for a very long time. So enjoy, review, and please review my other fic, as it is in serious need of editorial comments.


	10. Chapter 10

Through the Years Chapter 10

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ran Okami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"English"

"_Japanese_"

"Telepathic"

Previously in Through the Years: The nature of Ukyo's mutation was discovered, the family's training got a little rougher, and Ran Okami proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that all Ranma's have the tendency to attract women like a moth to a flame. On the darker side of things, Cobra has discovered the Logans and will follow them and their allies to the ends of the world for revenge.

Death is an inevitability in nature. No matter how much all life is driven to overcome all adversities on this world, all lives eventually fall victim to the jaws of the relentless predator at our backs from the day we are born. This is why we see the X-Men standing before a tombstone entitled with Japanese charactertures and English letters.

Not one face smiled as the dull grey colors of the cloudy afternoon seemed to match the sensations of Ukyo's heart with its drab pigments of light. The young mutant kept wiping her eyes as they teared up for the loss of her father. If this had been just about any other worlds' Ukyo not one tear would likely fall. However this particular member of the Kuonji clan wasn't abandoned like others and did indeed have reason to morn for the loss of her father's love.

China had been a major turning point for all the members of the Logan clan, but the one it had most affected was the young woman now standing in black.

"Dearly beloved," Professor Xaiver said as she stood before the mock-up of a grave. "It is with heavy heart that we morn the passing of a great man and father of one of our most cherished students; Ukyo Kuonji." Professor X stopped for a moment to think about his words.

"He had the difficult duty of raising his lovely daughter without the aid of his wife, but he did everything he could to give the most important part of his life a chance at a good life. And although he was not long for the world, he didn't let it affect the love that he showed for his little girl. Let us also not forget that it was this man who gave Ukyo the opportunity to join our family of X-Men, where she was accepted among those far different from her even before she was considered a mutant. Now as we let go of the proud head of the Kuonji clan, let him know that the one that he loved most of all on Earth has truly found a new home and family where she will spread the love that her father gave her." Professor X smiled as Ukyo's face brightened a little from his speech.

"Now you can finally rest good sir, reunited with your wife whom you were separated from for what seems so long and were the two of you look with pride upon your daughter and the works she has yet to do." Ukyo laid down a white lily at the stone slab and pressed her fingers against the cold marble rock feeling the letters carved in it's face.

"_Good bye daddy. I'll see you soon. Don't worry I'll be okay._" Ukyo smiled as she got up and hugged both Nodoka and Logan. "I'm in good hands." She thought to herself as Ran Okami placed his hand on her shoulder.

Logan smirked slightly, but he felt like something wasn't right here. "You'll be okay kid?" the Canadian asked as Ukyo let him go.

"I'll be fine sir. It will be painful for some time, but I'll be okay." Ukyo smiled as she let go and walked inside to change out of her funeral dress.

"Hey Uchan how about we spend some time in the Danger Room and see if we can't knock a few seconds off our old time?" Ran Okami asked as he slapped the closest thing to a sister he had on the back.

"You want to see who beats who's record first Ranchan?"

"You're on Uchan. I know that I'll be beating my record long before you do." Ran Okami smirked.

"Why don't you put your skills where your mouth is Ranchan." Ukyo said as she punched Ran Okami in the shoulder as the door closed behind them.

"No offence Logan but Ukyo seems to have gotten over the loss of her father pretty quickly." Iceman said as she scratched the back of his head."

"She's tough, what about it?" Logan nearly growled at Bobby.

"Oh nothing...forget I asked." Bobby began to back off from the irate warrior. Nodoka, however, placed her hand on Bobby's shoulder and sighed. However, she had done this with such stealth that Bobby nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized Logan's wife was there.

"Calm down please Bobby. The reason that Ukyo is so at ease with the death of her father is that she has already had time to deal with the pain in China; just because she isn't too upset now is no indication of who deeply she feels for her father or how much she misses him."

"Got it Auntie." Bobby said, coming down from the adrenaline rush of fear induced shock. "But please don't scare me like that again."

"My apologies. I am so used to my skills that to not use them is unfamiliar." Nodoka bowed slightly as she smiled at the teenage mutant with a motherly air to her.

"Well well...looks like Bobby seems to be a little problem with women sneaking up on him." Warren chided the icy mutant now taking a deep breath.

"Oh really great liner there air head. Do you come up with your own material or just pay someone to come up with something that pathetic?"

"Who are you calling an air head there ice cube? And you're one to talk since you couldn't even think of a good line no matter how much someone pays you." Warren replied as his wings were pulled back in an intimidating pose.

"Okay you two take a cold shower." Cyclops said as she stood in-between the two of them. His glasses flashed a bright crimson spark that was meant to stop the conflict dead. Unfortunatly it didn't really work out too well.

"Oh you want to start something 'commander'? I'll take you on right now." Warren cocked his fist ready to lay a right hook on Scott.

"Why don't you cool off cocky?" Bobby said as a stream of ice jetted out of his hand and hit Warren in the wings. The extra weight caused Warren to become unbalanced for a second and he stumbled backwards.

"Oh it's on now 'Icecube'." Warren said as his anger grew and he lept at Bobby, blind to the fact that Scott was in his path.

"Warren look out!" yelled as he was about to be tackled. In reflex he lifted his ruby shades for a second and nailed Warren in the chest, stunning him for several seconds. "Okay I've had enough from both of you." Scott said. "Warren when you're finished recovering I want you to run three laps around the mansion.."

"Too easy." Warren thought to himself. "I'll be done in..."

"while wearing Ran Okami's backpack."

"Thirty years." Warren groaned to himself. "Fine."

"And you Bobby." Scott thought for a moment. "I think that you are in need of some stealth and observation training to fix your problem of being caught off guard, so you get to train with Ran Okami and Ukyo for the week."

"Oh come on Scott." Bobby interjected. "Warren started this mess."

"And I ended it." Scott said as he looked Bobby in the eyes. "You got it?"

"I take it that nothing's really changed while we were gone huh Chuck?" Logan said as he pulled out a cigar and lit a match.

"Not much my good friend, and I ask that you not take that inside." Charles Xavier said as he looked around and seemed to have a worried look on his face.

"Something wrong Charles?" Nodoka asked as she joined her husband in walking around the campus with Xavier.

"I'm not sure actually Nodoka. Ever since you arrived back from China I've been having picking up loose thoughts from someone but I cannot pinpoint from whom or where they are coming from."

"You are sure that it is actually someone Charles? I mean if they are just random thoughts.."

"Although you raise a valid point Nodoka, the thoughts are in the form of words and just like each person has their won voice, so to their own thought voice. I have been around each of my students long enough that I would know each of their thought voices if you will by memory, though you know that I never invade the minds of others for any but the most dire of reasons."

"It is one of the reasons that I respect you so much Charles." Nodoka replied as she overlooked the school grounds. The leaves on the trees waved genteelly as they were lifted by the calm breezes of the late spring winds. Soon the green foliage now shading the walkways of the Xaiver mansion would be indispensable as the heat of summer would make life harsh for any caught outside of the shade.

The matron of the Logan clan took this all in with a calm sigh. The peaceful tranquility that now surrounded her seemed too good to be real. Ever since her beloved Logan entered her life, Nodoka had been forced into the lifestyle of action and danger that is the hallmark of being a superhero. This tranquility didn't fool Nodoka for a second, however, for such times of peace generally are nothing more than the precursors of times of great challenge.

"You okay darlin?" Logan asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You've got a 50 foot gaze in a 20 foot room look."

"Ah what...Oh yes sorry beloved." Nodoka said as she shook her head a few times bringing herself around. "I just got lost for a second. I'm sorry for upsetting you but I'm getting the feeling that...what is the expression..." Nodoka thought for a second. "I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Yea got that feeling too. Something just don't feel right here." Wolverine's nostril's flared for a moment as the Canadian turned his head around looking for the slightest trace of whatever or whoever was now scheming against them.

"Anything Logan?" Professor Xavier asked as he turned his chair around and looked up.

"Nothing but the pool's chlorine, the trees, a fox in the forest, and a deer taking a piss." Logan growled as he spat on the ground.

"While I share your frustration dear, did you have to be so blunt?" Nodoka asked.

"Wanted to be thorough babe." Logan smirked.

"Yes well...at any rate there appears to be no clue as to what is going on." Professor Xavier chuckled. "But at least I now know that the forests that envelope the school grounds are healthy." The telepath said as he proceeded to roll along the walkway out to the edge of the yard.

Meanwhile down in the Danger Room, we find our two young heroes in pitched combat against a horde of the most terrifing robotic opponents the brilliant mind of one Henry "Hank" McCoy could design and build. In other words they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Hey Beast what happened here?" Ran Okami asked as he gazed over the newly refurbished Danger Room. From stem to stern the Danger Room was shiny as a new car right off the lot. Gone was the all the obvious dangers and traps and the place actually looked as empty as a tomb, a chrome plated tomb.

"I took the liberty of redesigning the entire Danger Room while you were gone." Beast smiled. "Consider it a return home present for the two of you."

"So where's all the equipment?" Ukyo asked as she gazed from one side of the room to the other.

"Since the X-Men will have to deal with several different dangers, environments, enemies, etc. I designed this new danger room to be able to change itself to suite such needs." Beast said as he polished his glasses. "The actual traps are under your feet, and can be raised to lowered depending on which one is needed where from this control room."

"Wow." Ran Okami and Ukyo said with mouths agape.

"Why thank you. However I haven't quite gotten the holographic generators quite right so it's still a work in progress. Still I think you will find these opponents challenging enough for your contest." Beast pressed one of the numerous buttons located on the control panel.

As the trigger mechanism was activated, a series of doors opened along the side of the room and a legion of robotic foes headed towards the two young mutants. Although these foes looked like metallic versions of the undead, with their skull-like heads and gangly limbs. Some of said limbs were not just human-like hands; some of these machines had chainsaws, whips, and other assorted tools of death and destruction that made this challenge very real and very dangerous.

"Okay this changes our bet slightly." Ran Okami said thinking for a second.

"Lets just make it how many opponents we defeat now versus when we left for China." Ukyo said as she pulled out her battle spatula.

"Works for me." Wild Wolf said as the robots charged the two mutants.

"Man Beast where do you come up with such great toys?' Ran Okami said as he back flipped out of range of a passing buzz-saw blade attached to the arm of one such robot. The young Logan landed on his hands, and using his momentum, pushed himself up and onto the back of another robot. This particular foe had powerful clawed hands and a silver-chrome covering.

As the robot tried desperately to grab his irritating opponent, Wild Wolf flexed his arms and released his claws. In one blindingly swift movement, those claws where driven hard into the robot's head. Sparks of blue and yellow exploded from where the bone blades impaled the metal one way clear through to the other. Not wasting a second, Ran Okami pulled his claws back out of the machine and swung his other arm around the neck of his K.O.'ed target and dropped to the ground while simultaneously throwing the robot several feet into the torso of another opponent in one fluid motion.

"Let us just say that I enjoy giving my mental talents a challenge my friend. As much as you enjoy pushing your body to its limit, so do I my imagination and technical skills." Beast smiled from the control room, smiling at the impressive display of gymnastic skill both teenagers where displaying.

"Reminds me of my high school varsity football days." Beast thought to himself as Ukyo rolled low at her target and swung her spatula into the back of her foe's calf region, causing the robot to come crashing down hard on its back.

In that split-second time frame, Ukyo flexed her wrist and shot a minispatula down hard into the neck of her target and hitting one of the hydraulic stabilizers for the head. Said head immediately dropped on that side as the fluid pressure dropped. Ukyo's metallic foe was, however, able to get back up on it's feet and attempted to smack the young lady hard. Ukyo didn't dodge though. Standing her ground, she let the robot's fist come right around her check, where it stopped cold. Ukyo's muscles strained for a moment as she absorbed the force of the impact and knelt down for a second before unleashing an uppercut on the robot's jaw. The head of her foe shot off like a bottle cap and made a series of clangs on the floor of the Danger room before coming to a rolling stop.

"Though I am beginning to have some doubts to my abilities, if they pose such little challenge for the two of you." Beast said with a smile in his voice.

"Don't put yourself down Beast." Ukyo said as she smacked another target in the face with her spatula. "This is a fantastic workout." the young female said as she went into a blocking stance and let the next target try to pommel her. The smirk on her lips became a full formed sneer as each punch added to her reserves. When the machine again cocked his arm back, Ukyo grabbed the outstretched limb and judo threw her foe onto the ground and then performed and overhead smash down onto it's chest region.

The metal plating buckled from the impact as a massive dent formed the center of a small impact crater. The edges of the chest plate had popped out of place with splayed seems. The robot's eyes flickered for a second before they died from loss of power.

But dear reader, do not think that just because the two teenage mutant's foes where dropping left and right that Wild Wolf and Ukyo were not being pushed to their limits. Sweat had stained both of their training garments which now were clinging to them like second skins.

Ran Okami leapt into another robot with his claws digging deep into his target's upper body as the sound of metal whining and electronics shorting sounded the robot's wounds. Wild Wolf pulled back is arms with a grunt and took a breath.

"Chestnuts Roasting Over Open Fire!" The young Logan's clawed fists blurred as the robot's insides were torn into shrapnel. The dull groan of bending metal resounded as the immense pummeling the robot received made it's body look like the surface of the moon.

Wild Wolf had to stop for a moment and wipe the sweat off his brow. This split-second pause was all that another robot needed to launch a steel tentacle from it's wrist and grab Wild Wolf around the neck. With a sharp jerk, Wild Wolf found himself flying backwards grabbing at the cord chocking him.

As the young Logan was being pulled along by his foe, Ukyo was slammed in the side by a fast-moving set of fists. Ukyo didn't budge though; instead she just let the fists keep coming. With each new hit, Ukyo's muscles were growing and becoming more and more defined.

"Got you now." Ukyo thought to herself for a second. "Hey looser catch these!" With the skill earned by practice and training, the energy absorbing mutant whipped out two minispatulas and threw them with all her stored up energy behind them. One exploded through the cord holding Wild Wolf like a bullet through a plate-glass window causing the young Logan to be unceremoniously dropped on his butt. Before Wild Wolf had the chance to free himself, the other spatula had become imbedded in the forehead of target with only the handle sticking out from between the eyes.

The robot was now dead on it's feet with it's head forced back at a disturbing angle; looking as if it would at any moment drop off the back.

"Thanks for the save Uchan." Wild Wolf said as he got to his feet.

"No problem Ranchan." Ukyo smiled as she sliced the head of the robot that had been attacking her with one fluid pass of her battle spatula.

Ran Okami smiled as he grabbed the metal cord that had been strangling him a moment earlier, and chunked it at the last robot in the room. Going out like a lasso, the cord wrapped itself around the torso of it's target and added pinned the foes limbs to it's side. Wild Wolf charged at his foe as fast as he could, then leapt into the air as he pulled his arm back with claws bear. Instead of coming down right on the target, however, Wild Wolf came down on the robot as his blades arced down and through the neck.

Less than a moment later, the robot's head dropped with a dull thud as Ran Okami landed on his knee with the tips of his bone blades just touching the grounds. Getting up and bopping the joints in his neck, Ran Okami turned to face Ukyo while retracting his claws back into his forearms.

"Thanks for the save Uchan." Ran Okami shyly smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hey no problem Ranchan." Ukyo smiled. "So does that mean that I won the bet?" The young lady asked as she leaned on her battle spatula with her hand over the top of the handle.

"No chance Uchan and you know it." Wild Wolf teased. "I destroyed more of those robots than you did."

"True." Ukyo cutely smirked. "You did destroy more robots than I did...but..."

"But?"

"That wasn't what we bet on." Ukyo smiled with the look of "I know something you don't" plastered all over her face.

"Okay?" Ran Okami was at a complete loss as to what the closest thing he had to a sister was saying.

"You said who could beat their old record first." Ukyo said as she held up her finger like a teacher lecturing a student. "And I demolished mine, while you only met par."

"Oh come on Uchan give it up." Wild Wolf groaned as the slapped himself in the face.

"Which means...I WON!" Ukyo proceeded to bounce around for joy for several seconds. During this time the robot that was still standing, though still destroyed, dropped to the ground with a dull clang. This mimicked well the feeling now going through Ran Okami's mind.

"I can't believe she's right." the teenage Logan groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, okay...I can believe that I'm admitting this...but you win." Ran Okami said doing a sigh that even Charlie Brown couldn't do.

"Yep I did. Come on Ranchan let's go clean up and get something to eat." Ukyo was now skipping as she headed to the door out of the Danger Room.

"Well my dear chum it would seem that Ukyo is going to be in good spirits for quite some time." Beast chuckled over the com unit. "Don't worry about the mess Wild Wolf; I'll want to go over the damage myself before doing any cleanup work."

"Thanks Beast." Ran Okami said as he just slumped his shoulders and made his way out.

It was a few minutes afterward that we see Ukyo giddy as well...lets just say that she's were someone as happy as she is should be. Said happy Ukyo was enjoying herself as she ate her lunch and watched TV. The male teenage member of the family on the other hand was at the moment had his head down staring at his lunch.

"Ah cheer-up Ranchan." Ukyo said as she rubbed her "brother's" back. "You didn't really lose the fight...I mean how many times have we actually faced off against robots?"

"Technically every time that we've actually used the Danger Room we've gone up against robots of one time or another." Wild Wolf sighed. "But yea." The point had to be considered, but that didn't do much for the young Logan's wounded pride.

"So it's not that you did any worse..." Ukyo smiled as she bite into her meal.

"As you've gotten better." Ran Okami finished as he looked up at his adopted sister's smiling form. "I guess you're right, but...well great job Uchan."

"Thanks Ranchan." Ukyo smiled as she turned the TV in the kitchen on to see if she could find anything worth watching on.

And what of those strange voices Professor Xavier mentioned earlier my dear readers? We find the shadowy forms of armed men positioned around the campus. The silenced sound of their foot falls made barely a whisper as they stalked the now mostly still early night.

At that moment inside the mansion we see Professor Xavier calmly sitting by a lit lamp with a large volume held within his hands. The aged telepath was enjoying said novel within the quite comforts of his home after the work of the day was finished and before he had to retire to bed. Sadly something was about to put a crimp in said plans.

"Ring...Ring...Ring..." The telephone at the desk broke Xavier's train of thought as he lowered the book in his hands and looked around for a second.

"Now who would be calling at this hour of the night?" In reality it would have been a simple task of trying to read the sender's mind, but that would take a while in finding the actual person if he tried to search the entire world. Compare that to the simplicity of lifting the phone off the hook...well you get the idea.

"Hello Xavier's School For the Gifted. Professor Xavier speaking."

"Xavier we got a problem." Col. Fury said over the line.

"Yes Colonel what help may I be to you?" Professor Xavier was slightly set back at the call, since SHEILD rarely ever called upon his talents.

"It's not that you can help me with a problem. You got one of your own."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"I just got off the line with General Hawk. It seems that our favorite psychopath in a blue mask has taken a special interest in one of your staff and his family."

"Yes Logan told me of his previous encounter with the eccentric Cobra Commander. But tell me of what importance is it to us at this point?"

"Cobra has apparently been watching Logan and his family closely for a long time and believe me when I say that this is no idle threat." Fury stopped for a second as he inhaled on his cigar. "But we always figured that he would have to be an idiot to attempt something with your telepathic powers around."

"Well I wouldn't say that my home is impenetrable Colonel, but I take it something has changed?"

"Last night one of our deep cover agents informed G.I.Joe that Cobra had developed mental blockers against telepathic powers along with some sort of super coversent." Fury replied as he let Professor Xavier figure it out.

"I see, how effective are this...blockers?"

"They prevent most brainwave penetration both ways, but a few out our...consultants say that some thoughts still get out...no more than a word or two once in a while."

Professor Xavier took a deep breath for a second.

"I see." Professor Xavier said as he placed a hand on his temple. "Do you have any idea what exactly they are planning?"

"My guess would be revenge." Fury said. "And with what we say in Japan during your vacation..."

"Thank you for the call Colonel Fury, I'm sorry but at this moment their are things I need to attend to." Professor Xavier said as he was about to put the phone down.

"Look Xavier if things get out of hand SHEILD's ready at a moment's call...10 against an army doesn't sound like good odds even if it's the X-Men."

"I am no fool Colonel, but we mutants can prove to be more than capable of dealing with out own problems." Xavier said. "Still thank you for the call and if need be I know I can reach you."

"Got ya Xavier." the phone cut off as both men hung up.

Professor Xavier tilted his head back slightly and focused on the sleeping minds of his mixed-matched family.

"This is a class-one emergency message to everyone. Meet me in the War Room in no later than 10 minutes. I repeat this is a class-one emergency not a drill."

"Got it Professor." Jean said as she telekinetically threw the covers off her self and Scott. Said optic blasting mutant was having a very difficult time not taking a quick glance at the mostly nude form of his hot as a two dollar pistol girlfriend.

"Come on people we've got to get going." Iceman yelled as he passed by the couple's room while sliding along on a sheet of ice as Polarus floated over his shoulder.

Within seconds Cyclops and Marvel Girl were racing down to the secret elevator entrance to the inner sanctum of the X-Mansion. The well practiced and movements of the team were as precision clockwork, exact in their timing and working without flaw. Well not entirely without flaw.

"Hold the car will ya." Angel yelled as he rushed into the hallway, flying as fast as he could. He stopped in front of the human, or rather mutant, version of a sardine can.

"Angel what kept you?" Cyclops asked as he gave the teenage millionaire a look stern enough to send shivers down most people's backs. The door shut before an answer could be given.

"Give it a rest Cyclops." Angel said as he felt his wing brush-up against someone. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into uniform with these wings?"

The door opened as the X-Men poured into the downstairs hallway and ran into the War Room where Professor Xavier awaited them with Wolverine and Nodoka.

"Okay Professor we're here." Cyclops said as he steped forward.

"Good Scott." Professor Xavier's face was without his usual smile as an air of worry seemed to flow from him. "Now..."

Before the Professor could finish, Beast, Wild Wolf, and Ukyo made their way into the room and stood with the other member's of the X-Men.

"we have a big problem." Professor Xavier wheeled up to the control desk situated in the middle of the room. "No more than ten minutes ago I was informed that an old enemy certain members of our team have come into possession of two things which have allowed them to cover themselves from my mental powers and from even the most acute mutant senses."

Pressing a button on the table a holographic red image comes into view.

"Cobra? What would they want with us? I mean we haven't fought them or anything?" Iceman said scratching the back of his ice-covered head.

"True the X-Men haven't battled them before Bobby. However, myself and my family were pivotal in their defeat when they attacked the Pit." Nodoka said as she adjusted the strap of her sheath across her back.

"Can't you go anywhere without getting into a fight?" Angel asked Wild Wolf.

"Can you go five seconds without annoying every living thing around you?" the teenage Logan replied in a hushed tone.

"Wild Wolf, Angel, is there something that you wish to share with the rest of us?" Professor Xavier asked knowingly.

"Ah no sir."

"No Professor."

"Good. Now since it is known to everyone here now that we have been under observation for the better part of a month without any evidence as to the power or number of our opponent we must use what we know about our foe."

"Lets see...Cobra Commander is a complete whack-job with world domination on his mind along with revenge." Ukyo pointed out.

"Though completely insane, he's as cunning as the snake that he takes his name from." Wild Wolf added.

"He also seems that he is incredibly petty Charles, and would probably use a vast number of vehicles and men in an attempt to overwhelm us." Nodoka said as she scratched her chin in thought.

"Indeed." Professor Xavier pondered the keen observations of those around him. "However we now have a very distinct advantage."

"What advantage could we possibly have?" Iceman asked as he blinked our of pure ignorance.

"I think what the Professor is getting to is that they no longer have the advantage of us not knowing that we're about to be attacked." Cyclops pointed out as he pulled up an overhead view of the X-Mansion. "And I'm guessing that they have already scoped out our defenses with the advantage of being undetectable to your mental powers Professor."

"As well as you Logan are unable to smell them out. So we'll have to trick them into actually coming in." Xavier smiled as he rested his hand on the controls of his chair. The response of most of the X-Men was pure shock.

"What?" the voices of several of those gathered said.

"Our best bet is to use our internal security systems to trap them in here with us, more specifically I want to lure them into the Danger Room." Professor X said as he rolled to the command station.

As the telepath stopped at the console, he pressed several buttons which activated video screens all across the room.

"While I remain here I will need all of you to positioned across the mansion." Professor X said as he sat back for a second. "Unfortunately without my mental powers to rely on, I am more of a handy cap in the mansion."

"Okay Chuck. So what kind of trap are we going to be setting here?" Wolverine smirked.

"One in which we will make sure that a certain egotistical tyrant learns that the X-Men are more than a force to be reconded with."

The black stillness of the Mansion's exterior was silent as a tomb; only the sudden and rapid movements of shadowy figures jumping and running across the exterior broke the peaceful night scene.

Garbed in black from head to toe, these villains swiftly and stealthily made it to a small window located on the second level of the mansion climbing with the aide of their palm claws. One figure pulled out a small little cube of what could have been a rubber eraser and pulled off a few small pieces. The grey material was placed at points around the window. Placing the cube back into a hidden pocket, the intruder pulled out a small electrical device and plugged it's two electrodes into the grey plastic stuff. Pressing the on button, a red LED light went on and awaited the signal to activate it's current.

When done, the group headed to the roof and removed the covering for the ventilation systems. Each of the men then held a grenade and pulled the pen. As a strange green gas began to escape, they dropped the metal cylinders. Waiting several seconds, they placed on their masks and followed into the dark and unlit home.

So far the mission was going like clockwork for them; no resistance, no evidence of their detection...it was a cake walk. This opinion was heightened as the group split apart and one happened to come across the motionless form of a man in blue spandex with yellow gloves and boots. Slowly leading with his right hand, with his left on his sword, the dark clad assailant hovered over the body and began to roll it over...

"_And I thought these mutants were supposed to be powerful foes._" he thought to himself as the head began to roll his way, only...

SHOOOM!!!

A crimson beam shot straight up and into the trespasser's chest, slamming him into the ceiling with enough force to break several ribs, and knock him out.

Cyclops got up and removed the gas mask from his face.

"Excellent work Scott. Now remember team don't use your communicators and let me be your eyes." the familiar voice of one Charles Xavier mentally spoke

"Understand Professor." Cyclops said as made sure the man was out like a light.

The other intruders had made their way further into the home and had grouped themselves at Ran Okami's room. As they checked his bed, they were in for a shock.

"Well hello there punks. Looking for me?" Wild Wolf said a the door flipping the light switch and smirking.

Now illuminated these thugs didn't look like any Cobra agents, rather these were the assents of stereotypical ninja

"_There he is._"

"_Get him._"

"_Your funeral punks._" Wild Wolf said as he unleashed his claws and took a defensive stance. The ninja's attacked with practiced precision and absolute skill; definitely the real thing.

Katana blades sliced the air making deadly hissing noises. Wild Wolf ducked low and used a leaping spin kick to one of the ninja's temples. As his other leg cleared the ground, it was nearly severed by another ninja slicing low.

"I don't know what you said but you never fight one X-Men without fighting every X-Men." Iceman said as he unleashed a frozen beam at his targets. One ninja found himself trapped in a solid block of ice, but two other escaped by hanging from the ceiling.

"_They are awake. Activate plan B._" the leader ninja said as a small signaling device was activated.

Several miles away we see Cobra Commander, Destro, and Baroness sitting at a wooden table heard the beeping sound from a speaker.

"Well my friend it seems that your forces weren't up to the job alone. I dare say that I am unimpressed with there skills." Cobra Commander said to a hidden figure lurking in the shadows.

The unseen accomplice to the head of Cobra didn't remove himself from his spot, but the brief flicker of a purple cape in the background and the sound of metal scrapping against metal said loads.

"Do not patronize me Cobra Commander; I don't take such mocking well." He said facing his current ally. "Do you not think that such was planned for? If only a handful of mutants handled your forces so easily, what do you think the whole team is capable of?"

"Not to mention my dear Commander that this is merely a distraction. Artillery commence firing on my order." Destro yelled into a microphone. At the Scotsman's command cannons opened up their deadly power at the X-Mansion.

Within such mansion Wild Wolf was having his hands full facing against these targets. With every thrust and strike he performed on them, they were able to execute a dodge just quick enough to escape the blow. Iceman would have helped but he too had his hands full at the moment as he launched blast after blast of frozen air that slowed down his opponent enough for Bobby to avoid his attacks.

"Okay buddy this has gone on long enough." Wild Wolf said to his foe as the young Logan took a gamble and let his foe strike him with a short thrust attack. The ninja's blade sank into Wild Wolf's flesh and pinned him to the wall.

For a brief moment it would have seemed that Wild Wolf was defeated, but that was folly on the ninja's part. With one fast swipe, Wild Wolf severed the arm and wrist of the ninja, before pulling the sword out of his side and coming down on the ninja's head, not even realizing what he had done.

"What have I..." Wild Wolf paused for a second looking at the lifeless form his enemy. The head and upper right side was separate from the rest of the ninja and the sword in his hand was covered in blood.

"Hey Wild Wolf a little help here!" Iceman cried as more and more ninja swarmed at him.

The teary eyes of Wild Wolf began to fill with rage as he gripped the blade in his hands as if he was going to crush it. "DAMN YOU BASTARDS WHY CAN'T WE JUST BE LEFT ALONE!" Wild Wolf yelled as he charged like a maniac at the amassed foes around his friend. So startled at this were the deadly warriors of the night that they left themselves completely open to attack, but not from Wild Wolf.

Iceman took the time given and concentrated his powers then...CHEEECK. The air froze around him instantly trapping each and every opponent around him in a thick sheet of ice.

"Good distraction buddy... hey you okay man?" Iceman asked as Wild Wolf stopped right in front of the captured mass of ninicles.

"Yea...I just...I.."

"Yea I know, but they're trying to kill us so lets argue morality later." Iceman said as he placed a hand on Wild Wolf's shoulder as the teenage Logan dropped the sword.

BOOM! The entire Mansion rocked with the force of artillery impacts.

"Yea later." Wild Wolf said as he and Iceman left the frozen clump of black suited foes behind them and headed to where the fight was going on.

Outside Jean Grey and Polaris were holding the line while the telekinetic shield around them was getting a pounding.

"How much longer can you hold on?" Polarus asked as she used her powers to toss the HISS tanks around like tennis balls.

"Not much..."

"Hold as long as you can red." Wolverine said as he came Adamentium claws forward into the fray. "The cavalry's here." The Canadian didn't waist any time making sure that the blue-clad Cobra attackers knew exactly how big a mistake they had just made.

Back at the Cobra base, Cobra Commander's newest ally was now chuckling.

"It would seem that these 'X-Men' are as good at dealing with the most powerful terrorist group in the world as they are with fighting my men."

"Silence you." Cobra Commander sieved with rage. "At any rate I think that it is time to start our next faze of the plan."

"Commander shall I inform Storm Shadow?" Baroness coyly asked.

"By all means Baroness, and do it NOW!" Cobra Commander yelled.

At the mansion, Iceman and Wild Wolf had found themselves in the middle of a war zone.

"Well looks like the parties going strong." Wild Wolf said as he saw that the mansion was now missing a wall.

"Team begin falling back into the mansion, I am about to activate the external defense grid." Professor Xavier said as he pressed several buttons.

"Alright Professor we are heading towards you." Cyclops said as he and Angel made their way to the lower basement.

"Wolverine we need to start pulling back." Jean said as she used her hands to focus the shield.

"I hate running from any fight..." Wolverine replied while he leapt upon a HISS tank and tearing open it like a cat into a catnip mouse. "You get inside I'll keep them off our tails." Wolverine said as he smacked a Viper in the head with his fist before jumping off the tank.

"Cobra Commander they are running back inside the mansion. Do you wish for us to follow?' Major Blud asked.

"Negative. Maintain the perimeter until otherwise told." Cobra Commander replied as he held the microphone to his mouth.

"Commander Storm Shadow is at this moment headed to the target." Baroness said as she slowly and seductively sat down at her spot.

"Good, all is going according to plan." The air was filled with the manic laughter of the lunatic as his blue mask billowed with voice.

At this point Wild Wolf and Iceman were nearly at the entrance to the lower levels of the Mansion...only to find someone had blown the elevator to pieces.

"What the...UUFF." Iceman said as a white-clad ninja with a red serpent head on his back nailed him in the head with a drop-kick.

"Storm Shadow right?" Wild Wolf smirked. "Snake-Eyes told me about you." the young Logan said as he and the Grandmaster ninja started to circle one another.

"Indeed. And you are the famous Ran Okami Logan...the Wild Wolf." Storm Shadow's voice was stern and serious, though not cold or venomous. "I have seen your fighting prowess before young one and you impress me. I can see why my sword brother would consider you to be the heir to our style. I would be honored to see your skills in person."

Storm Shadow pulled his two katanas from his back and twilled them around in his hands with skill and grace that made the deadly contest seem as if it was nothing more than a delicate dance. Wild Wolf was not fooled by the display and unleashed his bone claws.

"Prepare yourself." Storm Shadow said as he lashed out with a double fanged attack slicing his swords down and then forward aimed at Wild Wolf's side. The mutant only had a split second to react and was just barely able to dodge the attack.

Wild Wolf did a series of back flips and jumped onto the wall. With both of his feet firmly seated, he lunged forward and down so that he could come back up on his opponent with a devastating uppercut. Storm Shadow anticipated this move and as the young Logan was coming up with his claws, the ninja was able to move out of the way and hit Wild Wolf under the arm with the steel sword blade.

Wild Wolf found himself rolling off to the side of the hall and slamming into a table.

"Okay I wasn't expecting that." Wild Wolf said as he shook his head and attacked again. A sweep kick came at Storm Shadow's legs and almost had the master ninja, only he cart wheeled to the side of the attack and placed one of his swords back into it's sheath freeing a hand he used to grab and twist Ran Okami's arm and slamming the mutant into the floor.

Getting back on his feet, Wild Wolf decided that was enough.

"CHESTNUTS ROASTING OVER OPEN FIRE!" Wild Wolf's punches with blinding fast as Storm Shadow was attacked, and even with is ninja level speed, several of the punches hit hard and the claws tore into his sides.

"It would seem that you are everything that I expected." Storm Shadow said as he smiled under his mask. With lightning speed the ninja's wrist snapped out several ninja stars heading with deadly accuracy towards our hero. Several of the sharp spinning blades were avoided, however a few of them hit hard and dug into the mutant's chest.

"Okay this is guy's better than I thought." Wild Wolf thought to himself as he pulled the thrown blades from his flesh. Shaking his head, Wild Wolf tried to break the tingling sensation now running through his body. Throwing himself yet again into combat, the sensation was beginning to dissipate as once more adrenaline coursed through Wild Wolf's veins.

"You possess great skill for someone so young Wild Wolf." Storm Shadow said as he ducked and weaved around his opponent's attacks. The Cobra ninja's blades were getting more and more slices into Ran Okami's body, and even though the mutant's healing abilities were able to fix the wounds, something was wrong. Wild Wolf's attacks were getting weaker and sloppier, his eyes were no longer clear and his steps seemed weighted.

"Sad to say that I do not have time to fight you any more." Storm Shadow jump kicked Ran Okami in the head and the mutant for some reason couldn't snap himself out of it to retaliate. With one last pathetic stumble, Ran Okami fell to the ground with his face slamming into the hardwood floor.

"Storm Shadow to Cobra Commander, I have negated the target and now am returning to base."

"Excellent Storm Shadow We will continue to fight until the fools realize too late what is happening." The terrorist said as the ninja lifted his unconscious opponent up and headed towards the window marked earlier. As he ran, he pressed a button which caused the window to explode outward and a Cobra jetpack to automatically launch up. Storm Shadow jumped into the sky with his target strapped to his chest and caught the jetpack which automatically launched onto him firmly. The bright red and yellow contrail of the jetpack soared into the sky and into a large air-based transport.

"Ah Storm Shadow you seem to have brought us a guest." Dr. Mindbender smiled cruelly as the open doorway to the outside closed.

Zarrana walked up and took a look at the limb head of Wild Wolf. "Well are you cute there little guy. Don't do anything too bad to him Mindbender, it would be a shame if this guy got all messed up in one of your experiments."

"I assure you Zarrana I have no intention of messing anything up about this particular warrior. Quickly get him to my lab for transport back to our base. The sedative may be wearing off as we speak." the bald madman said as he pointed down to the main portion of the vessel.

Wild Wolf found himself locked in irons several hours later in a cold and dank room. His eyes were quickly clearing along with the rest of his body. His legs didn't really agree with him though as he tried to get up, falling again and again to his knees.

"What? Where am I." Wild Wolf asked as he shock his head back and forth several times to regain his senses.

A large metal door opened in front of him as he tried yet again to find his footing.

"Ah if it isn't our honored guest Ran Okami Logan." Cobra Commander said as he walked into the foul room, making it even fouler in Wild Wolf's opinion.

"What do you want venom breath?" Wild Wolf spat at his capture.

"I will ignore the outburst, as it is clear that you are out of sorts at the moment." Cobra Commander said as he walked in front of the young mutant. "But to answer your question young man, you owe me big time for my defeat in Georgia and my subsequent defeat in Japan."

"I owe you nothing." Wild Wolf replied. "You attacked me and I kicked your butt just like I'm going to do now." Wild Wolf strained against the iron chains holding him back. His claws jutted out of his arms and tried to slice through the heavy metal, only to fail.

"My, what spirit the boy has, and what courage too." Cobra Commander chuckled, before kicking Wild Wolf in the face and smacking him to the ground.

"Now that that is out of the way. I think that it is important that you see why we were able to get so close to you this time."

"You got lucking, and it's going to run out."

"Perhaps my boy, but even still you have to realize that if it wasn't for someone close to you, who knew everything about you and your family, then we never would have been able to capture you at all. You're probably thinking about who this traitor could be...who would have known the exact abilities you have and those of the rest of the X-Men. Who possibly could you have trusted with this information, and then gave it to me?"

"BS, you just watched us from afar that's all." Wild Wolf said as he finally was able to get to his feet.

"Oh no I'm telling you the truth. Let me show you who is responsible for your current living accommodations..."

"Who Dr. Frankenstein?" Wild Wolf joked.

"It was I you freak." The voice was unmistakable, but it couldn't be. Another figure walked into the room adorn in royal violet from head to toe on top of his gleaming metal armor. Blades covered his forearms, shins, and elbow pads. The helmet and faceplate he wore left only his eyes visible. "As if a half gaijen mutant as yourself could even hope to become a true member of the Foot Clan."

"Saki? Oroku Saki?' Wild Wolf asked.

"You may call me...The Shredder..." The ninja removed his helmet and faceplate to remove any doubt whatsoever. "and it is about to become very bad to be you."

To be continued...

In the next chapter of Through the Years...why has Oroko Saki allied himself with Cobra, and what do they have in store for Ran Okami. Stay tuned for more updates in the following months.

Author's Notes: Okay people I'm sorry this is late, but it was long and I have a full time job and a night school class as I'm trying to get into the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for Grad School in Paleontology. This story is going to have to take a back seat though as I finish the side story to it and do more to Harry Potter and the Half Bloods. Please be kind enough to review and feel free to add any advice that you want.


	11. Chapter 11

Through the Years Chapter 11

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G.I.Joe belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ranokami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"English"

"Chinese"

"_Sign language_"

"_Japanese_"

It was cold, dark, and miserable conditions for our favorite teenage Logan. Trapped by the vile Cobra Commander and the now traitor Oroku Saki...or as he called himself Shredder, the mutant was chained to the stone wall of a small prison cell where all of his powers and abilities meant jack squat.

Wild Wolf had since stopped attempting to destroy the bonds that held him, and now focused all of his mental skills to keeping himself from going completely insane with the loss of the feeling of time and interaction with other humans. The trick was to do something...anything to occupy your mind utterly and completely so that the passage of time isn't so terrible. In Alcatraz Prison those in solitary would create certain games like find the button in the dark.

In the case of our most favorite mutant martial artist this would be problematic as his hands were locked behind his back with thick chains that his blades were incapable to slicing through giving their thickness and the bonds and the angle which his hands were being held at.

"Okay...hands bound...held to my knees...and trapped in a dark and gloomy and cramped space with little to no light and most likely several hundred miles from anywhere I've probably heard of." Ranokami thought to himself as he analyzed his situation carefully.

"For the moment I'm relatively safe here...as nothing in this particular cell was intended to actually do any harm to me...but judging from how much time they put into placing me in just the right manner that I couldn't get out they probably made no attempt in creating a backup plan if I actually did get out of these bonds."

Wild Wolf kicked at the floor of his prison while his mind went into overdrive on thinking his next move. "Damn it...concrete and probably several inches think with re barb. So I'm stuck here...board out of my mind with nothing that possibly occupy my time...wait my mind!" it was at that moment that the hero of our story stumbled upon a revelation...an epiphany if you will. "If I remember correctly, Professor Xavier said that Cerebro was capable of detecting mutants across the world by filtering out the differences between our brainwaves and those of normal humans. Now all I've got to do is think hard enough to just get his attention." the young Logan smirked to himself as he concentrated all of his thoughts on one thing...his name.

Let us now go far from this depressing and sinister place, to one that is less sinister to our hero...but none the less at this point depressing. Westchester county New York has seen brighter days, happier days. Left in the wake of the attack from both Cobra and the Foot was an enormous hole in the mansion's side, several tons of demolished military hardware, and a few dozen prisoners-of-war and dead bodies now being taken care of by S.H.E.I.L.D.

Logan looked over the scene with a growing ire that teetered on exploding at a moment's notice. His claws were already unsheathed and looked like they were just looking for a warm body to rip into and set the blood of those who have taken his son free from their bodies. It was only the thinest of of lines that now kept the oldest of X-Men from exploding in a torrent of rage and sink his claws into something. His wife was even in worse condition.

Nodoka knew that something like this was coming, perhaps not these exact circumstances but she had felt that something horrible was on the horizon. The red-headed house-wife was bursting in tears as her hands were nearly clawing into her face in a well of despair such that she had known only one other time in her life.

The last remaining member of the Logan clan was caught between the responses of her adoptive parents. Ukyo was a warrior and wanted to bash the brains of those who had taken her "Ran-chan" away, and at the same time she was teetering on the edges of crying her eyes out for the loss of her brother. With the building frustration threatening to explode under the thinnest of tension, someone had to do something.

"Logan I can't imagine what you are facing, but I assure you that I will do everything in my power to find your son." Professor Xavier said as he rolled his chair up to Wolverine.

"I know Chuck, but right now I've got things...to deal with." Logan said as he clenched his hands and turned his head towards his beloved wife, her eyes red with tears. Silently Logan walked up and held his wife tight. Nodoka turned around and grabbed onto Logan with all the strength that she had.

"It will be okay darlin'. I've found him before and we'll find him again." Logan said as he let his wife just let it out on his shoulder. It was one of these moments that revealed just how much humanity Logan truly possessed.

"I know Logan-kun, but I don't want to think of what those monsters are doing to our son right now." the matron of the Logan household said as she whipped her face and dried her tears.

"No-chan whatever they even think they will do to our son, I'll make them pay a thousand times over." Logan said as he kissed his wife and smirked at her slightly growing smile.

Back over to Ukyo, we find that one Henry "The Beast" McCoy is taking a moment from his part in clearing the wreckage away to try to comfort the confused and very upset teenage mutant. Said mutant was so focused with her thoughts of her "Ran-chan" that she didn't even notice the strong but gentle hand placed upon her shoulder.

"In shards the sylvan vases lie,

Their links of dance undone,

And brambles wither by thy brim,

Choked fountains of the sun!

the spider in the laurel spins,

The weed exiles the flower;

And, flung to kiln, Apollo's bust.

Makes lime for Mammon's tower. Herman Melville" Beast said as he smiled down at the brunette.

"No offense Mr. McCoy, but what does that mean exactly?" the young woman asked, very much confused as to the exact point that her friend and teacher was trying to get at.

"Essentially that was a lament for the loss of a good part of the mansion, but it does seem applicable for the current loss of our comrade in arms." The bulky man said as he polished his glasses. "However, I am certain that we will find our abducted brother with the all due haste."

Overlooking the carnage was a man with an eye-patch and white high-lighted hair smoking a cigar. Dressed in a blue uniform with white gloves and boots, Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury was gazing out one something which brought back bad memories from too many battles.

"I tell yea Professor, his doesn't match Cobra's typical MO." Fury said as he let a small puff of nicotine laced air escape with his breath. "Extortion, arms dealing, drugs...but kidnapping Logan's kid? Something here doesn't make a damn bit of sense."

"Colonel I don't have to tell you how much it troubles me that someone, anyone, was capable of defeating the mansions defenses and take one of my students...each of whom I view as my own flesh and blood..." Xavier said as he knelled over in his chair trying to make some sense of all the madness before him.

"I know how you feel Xavier, trust me. Hell the kid's like a nephew to me...any chance that Cerebro device of yours can find him?"

"I will do everything that I can to locate him Colonel. But if Cobra was able to mask their agent's minds from me, then it is most likely that they already planned defenses against my methods of detection. I will be in contact with the Masakis and ask for their help in locating Wild Wolf."

"From what I've been told there is a little pink genius that could find our lost boy in seconds...but I don't want to become absolutely dependent on others help." Fury said as he took a moment to think of all the possible ramifications of his actions, thus the thought processes of an distrusting nature.

"Perhaps, but what worries me more is that some of the men that accompanied Cobra's forces were themselves not agents to that terrorist organization or even mercenaries." Professor Xavier said deep in thought for a moment. "Do you know of the various ninja clans which live in Japan."

"O few...the Hand, who we've had a few run-ins with." Fury said as he went deep into thought. "Not to mention Snake-Eyes is the Grandmaster of the Arashikage clan, what's left of it anyway. But I take it that neither of those did this."

"Your assumption was absolutely correct Fury. While at Logan and Nodoka's wedding you and I were both introduced to a master from another clan of ninja's...the Foot as they are called. During the time that Logan and Nodoka were on their honeymoon, their children happened to make aquanteces with a certain Oroku family, the patriarch of which possesses a very deep hatred of those he views a inferior." Professor Xavier said as he noted the red tri-pointed emblem on the ninja's garment.

"Stereotype xenophobe bigot, got it. So you think that Cobra has teamed up with this...Oroku guy and added the kid in the deal." Fury replied, while having no idea just how all this tied together.

"Though I am not certain as to why?" Professor Xavier said as he thought about it for a moment. "Why would he join with someone like Cobra Commander just to kidnap one mutant from where he should be the safest. If he had waited until Ranokami was in Japan again, then it would be Oroku who has the advantage."

"Well it may not be much to work with but at least it's something." Fury said as he calculated his next move. "I'll look up what we have on this 'Foot clan' and anything on where snake-face would take the kid."

"Very well. Logan will likely be in contact with the Masakis shortly, while I will be fully occupied with Cerebro trying as best I can to pick up Ranokami's mental signal. If you have any clue as to where the focus my mental search, it would make it easier for me by giving a general age to focus on." Professor Xavier commented while wheeling himself into the mansion through one of the undamaged sections to head into the secretive depths of his home.

Meanwhile, we journey back to the impressive fortress of sorrows that is the current base of operations for Cobra, but it is not the Wild Wolf that we will be focusing our attentions on this time.

Oroku Saki, the newly self-proclaimed Shredder, was currently sitting in the grand hall of the fortress awaiting his host's return from...whatever work he was doing. The future head of the Foot Clan had achieved the first part of his grand scheme; the capture of the vial and repulsive infidel who soiled the honorable Foot Clan, though the fact that he was the only warrior who was ever able to defeat him in...honorable combat.

If Oroku Saki had tried to challenge Ranokami in front of the grandmasters to the right to learn their art and was defeated by the mutant...the ramifications would have been horrendous. But honor was not something that true ninjas actually cared much about. This was good because there were still a few others to be dealt with if Oroku Saki, the Shredder, was truly to become the leader of the Foot, not the least of these was his own father.

"Well Shredder, it would seem that your little bit of treachery has paid off handsomely." Cobra Commander said, his happy tone and almost bounce in stride revealed his joyous feeling of self-congratulation.

"And I have fulfilled my end of the bargain Commander. The mutant is yours to turn into your weapon..."

"And in a few hours my men will have the entire hierarchy of the Foot Clan removed so that you are free to assume your new roll as sole master of the clan."

"But my father and Master Hamato Yoshi will be left for me to kill, I will accept no alternative." Shredder said as he stood up and faced the leader of Cobra.

"Not to worry my dear friend. Those two will be brought to you to kill however you wish. Now I think that you would love to hear what our dear, and demented, Dr. Mindbender has is store for our dear Ranokami Logan." Cobra Commander said as he had the Shredder return to his seat while taking his own.

As the illustrious Commander pressed one of the many buttons built into the chair's arm. several screens immediately lit-up, forming the image of the bald head and monocled eye of the single most insane generous ever to become a geneticist.

"Dr. Mindbender how goes our little experiment?" The background scene was as if it was taken right out of a bad monster movie, just a lot brighter and vastly more organized.

"Very well Commander, our...commandeering of the Weapon X programs files has allowed us a very unique insight into how to turn an average mutant into a completely homicidal killing machine." Dr. Mindbender smiled coldly, his whisper thin mustache seemed to highlight his insidious smile.

"Of course those fools were unable to actually succeed with actually creating their weapon due to the fact that their subject possessed a will and moral compass that was beyond their ability to deal with."

"And you believe that due to the age of our subject that he would be more susceptible to brainwashing? Need I remind you of a recent failure involving a child disobeying our mental commands to attack the Joes?" Cobra Commander said as he rapped his fingers impatiently.

"In that situation, dear Commander, we only applied external devices to those experimental subjects for a short-term form of control and underestimated the will power of an unwilling subject." Mindbender answered with a small huff, the level of nearly aristocratic arrogance exemplified by the doctor caused Shredder to roll his eyes in disbelief.

"In this situation, however, we are dealing with a far longer lasting method of removing our subject's humanity, and making him our perfect killing machine."

"The half breed dog deserves no less." Saki said as a cruel smirk formed on his face. "And so tell me...Mindbender, what dread fate awaits our...test subject?" For someone so young, no older than the young boy about to be the guinea pig of the insanity of Cobra, to be so cold, ruthless, and totally evil was very disturbing for even Mindbender. For an adult to be so evil is one thing, but to already be so far at such a young age meant that Cobra was now partner with a very dangerous level of evil.

"In our first encounter with Wolverine we noted that this claws were able to slice through our forces with seemingly impossible ease. After a long period of investigation we were able to find that these claws, as well as the rest of his skeletal structure, was bound to a material called adamentium." Mindbender explained as he showed images taken from the heat of battle in which Wolverine is slicing through the hard tempered steel of tank armor, as well as the weapons and flesh of Cobra troopers.

"Adamentium, it seems, is a well-nigh invincible, indestructible material that, when in the form of a blade, is capable of penetrating any earthly substance without becoming dull or corroding due to exposure to the elements or to the subject's immune system."

"I would see how combining such a powerful material to the rapid healing abilities of mutants such as these would create a powerful killing machine, however how would one control such a beast if he were to rebel against his master's commands?" Shredder asked, very intrigued as his the mechanics within his cunning brain were working at high speed.

"Unfortunately the ones at the Weapon X program believed that merely physiological programing would succeed in allowing their subjects to be controlled when they were needed to kill someone, then released back into the public without any memory as to what they had done. Unfortunately this was responsible to the dangerously uncontrollable psychosis that those they experimented on developed." the demented mad doctor said as he looked at the reports in his hands. As soon as he turned his head from them his face was graced with a sadistic and arrogant smile.

"I, on the other hand, have developed a system of nanites which allow total control of the thought processes of someone so that they will be unable resist no mater how strong their will may be. This is done by forcing those we expose these nanites to into a zombie like mental state in which they are operating only at a brain level slightly above unconsciousness while giving them a subconscious mission thought in which they are not capable of conscious thought."

"And therefore they do not posses the ability to form the will to resist our commands? Excellent Mindbender, however I am curious as to how out own subject's skeleton would affect his growth due to the fact that he is still within his teenage years while his father was apparently fully grown when he was experimented on?" Cobra Commander asked, not out of concern for the young mutant but rather out of worry for the potential waste of what could prove to be an excellent weapon against the Joes.

"Ah yes, that Commander is why the nanites I have created are far better and more brilliant if I may add than just simply grafting the metal to his bones. About the only thing that I found that those in charge of the project did that I would find to be genius was the use of more primitive nanites to construct pores in Wolverine's bones to allow new blood his body was making to replace his dieing blood cells. In our case, however, the nanites themselves will from the skeletal structure of our subject, growing along with him. Separate from the computer programing that will control his brain, a mechanical system that can't be affected by computers causes the nanites, themselves the adametium to cover his claws and skeleton, to form on top of the latest growth of bone and out of the way of the natural pores."

Shredder was grinning, throughly enjoying this "Doctor Mindbender's" cold, detailed, and incredibly Machiavellian description of the fate of the future Overlord of the Foot Clan's greatest rival.

"Well Commander I must confess that I am impressed with how devious and brilliant your organization's scientist are, now how long before the prisoner will be ready for the procedure?'

"Sadly it will take approximately a week or so for the entire procedure due to the time needed for the nanites programming to be completed."

"And the reason that you didn't pre-program these...nanites before we attained our prey is?" Shredder asked, now becoming irritated at the slight lack of forethought on the doctor's behave.

"Sadly we needed our test subjects body here to create a biological match in the nanites bio-interactive systems to prevent the test subject's regeneration from being hampered by an incompatibility with his organic systems. Similar in nature to organ donor tissue compatibility tests. Once we had our subject we began formating the nanites to mesh with his body so that his regeneration is unfettered and thus making him as capable a killing machine as possible." Mindbender explained as he gloated over his own genius.

"Very well then Doctor Mindbender, get back to work then." Cobra Commander said as he turned off the screen and faced his younger guest. "Well then we have a week until our killing machine is ready for his first trial run. When he is..."

"When he is, our forces will combine to conquer the Foot clan's leaders and I will take command of it. Once that is done the cur will be yours to do as you wish." Shredder smiled. But no matter what he said, it was clear that this alliance was a tenuous one. Both men were to accept nothing more than total and absolute success and would betray the other if needed.

And what of our teenage mutant captive? Ranokami was taking a break from thinking of his name and had found a small way in which to maintain his sanity. Unable to move either his arms or legs, he had developed a game in which he would attempt to move the dust specks now floating in the sparse light of his cell by blowing in different directions. He at first had thought of attempting a distorted version of "dead bug" but no such luck finding one to use.

While this had kept Ranokami's mind off of his current imprisonment, it still didn't change the fact that he was trapped and likely to be tortured by monsters for and unknown time. It was at this point that he remember the teachings of patients from his masters.

Flashback

We find Ranokami sitting upon straw flooring with his arms relaxed on his thighs and his eyes closed. Deep in meditation and oblivious to the rest of the world, he is unphased as Ukyo parades around him making noises and generally making a nucense of herself. After well over half and hour, Ukyo just gives up and leaves the room.

"_Well my student you seemed to have mastered the art of relaxed meditation, even under the most infuriating of circumstances._" the wise ninja master said as he observed his student's ability to be unaffected by his surroundings. "_Now continue this exercise for the next hour or so and I will be back to check on you later._"

End Flashback

Normally that would have been enough to cause anyone to do a face fault, however since the ninja master had told him to do so as training, Ranokami was able to overcome the urge to fall over.

From Master Snake-Eyes our favored mutant had developed such mental concentration that he could control his heart rate even under the most dire of situations.

Flashback

We see Wild Wolf sparing with the his master in a dojo. Claws drawn, Wild Wolf strikes again and again at his unarmed Sensei. Strike after strike Ranokami let fly at his teacher yet each time that he young warrior would attack, Snake-Eyes would effortlessly dodge or counter in such a manner that Ranokami went flying with almost no effort on the ninja master's part. Wild Wolf's rage was growing greater and greater with each failed attempt to hit his target. With one clawed punch, the teenage Logan found his wrist caught faster than he could blink, his neck trapped, his body spinning backwards, then sent flying with a leaping roundhouse kick causing him to smash into the padded wall of the dojo.

Recovering inhumanly fast, Wild Wolf lunged at Snake-Eyes with both of his hands, only to find that his master had ducked down below his attack. Faster than any human should really be able to, Snake-Eyes rose and jutted his hands up, then slapped Wild Wolf's arms apart as he head butted his student in the nose. As Wild Wolf head was shot back, he found that his legs had been taken out from under him and fell hard on his back. Not waiting for the young mutant to regain control, Snake-Eyes pinned his student to the floor so that he couldn't get up. This had Ranokami steaming mad, but before he could try to force the ninja off him, Snake-Eyes lifted one of his hands and calmed his student.

"_While a warrior may find need of his anger in battle, and the necessity of rage when absolutely needed, if he cannot also control it and all his emotions, then he is not a master of himself but a slave._" The master signed to him. "_Let your instincts guide you, but calm yourself and think of what is going on around you. It is then that you are truly a master of yourself._"

Letting his student get to his feet, Snake-Eyes ushered Wild Wolf to once again face him in combat. Steading himself, the young mutant calmed himself and once prepared to fight. Now, in control of his emotions, he once more battles the great ninja.

A sweep kick that Wild Wolf unleashed on his teacher had been intended to knock him on his back, however Snake-Eyes effortlessly back flipped, landed on his finger tips and launched himself into an aerial spin in which he had given himself several feet distance from his opponent. Ranokami didn't let his anger or exhaustion take control of his actions though, and attempted to take Snake-Eyes by surprise with an attack to the ninja's side after faking an attack to his master's front. Snake-Eyes was able to block both of these attempts, but only by a hair's breadth.

Not getting anywhere using any known attacks, Ranokami decided to improvise with something not attempted before, then a thought came to mind: why was he using his claws to fight? True they were fantastic weapons, and usually gave him a great advantage in most battles, but was not the point of being a ninja that one's entire body a weapon? Bingo that was an advantage that wild wolf hadn't thought of before. For as his master could not extend blades from his hands, so he could not retract them either.

Rushing at Snake-Eyes at full strength, Wild Wolf seemed to be setting up a left hook. Snake-Eyes had already moved to knock the attack away and leave his student exposed, but right before the counter was to hit Ranokami retracted his claws and without anything to react against, Snake-Eyes' momentum caused him to stumble for a split second. This momentary opening was all that Wild Wolf had wanted and unleashed a hard right (non-clawed) jab to Snake-Eyes' side. Immediately Wild Wolf was able to grab Snake-Eyes' shirt and judo threw him to the ground.

As the Master rose to his feet he stood in front of his student and the two bowed to one another.

"_Now my student do you understand that while your body's greater speed and power were needed to make that attack, you would have been unable to focus your mind, calculate the opening, and see when you should take advantage of it without a focused and controlled mind._"

"_Yes teacher I understand. Thank you._"

End Flashback

And of course one of most important lessons that he learned was one that he learned was from Sgt. Slaughter.

Begin Flashback

The Slaughter House was likely the single most isolated training location in all of the world. A desolate island far from any inhabited location in which only the strongest of all survive. The perfect place for someone like Wild Wolf.

We see out favored mutant running paces through the harsh, desolate, arid realm that would make ancient Sparta seem like a cake-walk.

Weighed down by several pounds of equipment, the young Logan was stomping through parallel rows of tires, crawling on his belly in the dust, and pulling himself hand-over-hand on bars hung above a deep pit.

"Pick it up yea little punk. You think that I can't make training hard enough for you to cry?" the Sargent said as he stood there with his stop watch. "You think that you're mutant stamina means anything here. I will have you sweat, bleed, and crying your eyes out."

Wild Wolf let go of the last bar and dropped to the ground. Not stopping to catch his breath, the main character of our story started huffing it over the last portion of the training ground.

"Well it seems that you actually made it. Good. Now you get to see if you can handle your fellow..trainees?" the massively built Drill Instructor said as he pointed over to three of the meanest SOBs Wild Wolf had ever seen in his life.

"What the hell does this little shrimp think that he's doing here?" A tall man said with an English accent.

"Looks like this kid's trying to play soldier. Why don't you go home to mommy little one." Said another who looked like a pro football player.

"I don't like his hair, lets see if we can remove it." A Turkish looking man said while wielding a scyle sword.

Wild Wolf dropped his backpack and smiled.

"You are welcome to try. But I doubt that you will be able to." Wild Wolf smiled while taking a defensive stance.

"Well I see that you're ready to start your next step in my training." Sgt. Slaughter smirked.

"What? You can't seriously think that we are supposed to train with a child."

"Heh, he doesn't look like he's tough enough to last an hour here."

"Never judge by looks yea pathetic wastes of space." Slaughter said as stood there giving the Renegades an evil eye. "Now this kid ran here, though the obstacle course, just to see your ugly mugs, and I don't want him to be disappointed."

"Ha, if this little runt wants a fight, then lets see how he..."

SHINKT

As Red Dog swung his club and his smaller foe, Wild Wolf unleashed his claws and sliced the weapon in one quick and decisive move. As the mountain of muscle coming at the mutant was momentarily off guard, Wild Wolf lept onto his foes shoulders and squeezed his neck with all his might, causing Red Dog to fall hard onto the ground.

"HA! Seems that our little fighter here is full of surprises. But tell me, can your claws handle steel as well as it does wood?" Taurus smiles as he slashes at the young mutant with his scimitar, only to find that Wild Wolf is able to dodge each of the Turk's attacks. In a split second, however, Wild Wolf was kicked in the stomach. Knocking the wind out of him for a second, Taurus lorded over his stunned advisory; big mistake. Faster than most people think, Wild Wolf recovered and launched his heel hitting Taurus hard in the ankle resulting in him falling into the dust with a loud thud.

Mercer slammed Wild Wolf with a powerful left jab that knocked the young mutant several feet and caused him to spit up blood for a few seconds.

"Well ready to go home?" the ex-viper said, wanting to end this quickly.

"I'm not going home until I beat this island, and you." Wild Wolf said as he spit the blood out of his mouth as his inhuman regeneration healed his wounds in mere seconds. "Or until my x-gene gives out."

"This one has spunk, I like that. Tell me how does one so little get so strong?"

"By getting hit in the face by about two to three tons of granite for a week."

"Nice tackle kid. But I tackle harder." Red Dog said as he was whipping the dirt off his face.

"AT EASE DISEASE!"

"Yes Sargent!" all, including Wild Wolf.

"Good. Now that you all got a taste of things to come, we're going to make sure that each and every one of you get just what's coming to you. And when you will all leave you will be what?"

"Perfect Sargent."

"That's right Per-er-fect. Now since our newest member just kicked your asses to the curb, you have to run all the way back. Wild Wolf since you already ran your ass over here, you get to walk back...double time."

"Yes Sargent."

End Flashback

Oh yea three long hard weeks being force to endure training unseen since ancient Sparta taught Wild Wolf many things. And one thing that was kicked into the young mutant's head was to be tough. Really tough. And if the infamous Sgt. Slaughter couldn't make this warrior crack then nothing a bunch of low-life snake worshiping scum and a traitor of the Foot could do would make him crack.

Days passed with little change for the prisoner. The only thing that would brake the monotony was the occasional meal and the different specks of dust that floats in the wind. Until...

"Well well it seems that today is your lucky day my dear captive." the malevolent voice of Cobra Commander hissed as his adjacent subordinates held Ranokami's arms tight as they both jabbed a powerful tranquilizer into his system.

"And what the hell is so lucky about being injected with drugs before being used as your guinea pig." the teenage mutant spat back with impunity.

"Simple. The lab has better lighting." the sarcastic tone of the ruthless dictator was the last thing that the mutant heard before being knocked out by the powerful drugs.

In another part of the base, Oroku Saki was taking in the sights of the Doctor Mindbender's workplace.

"Tell me again why we have to drop the mental shields on this base?" Shredder asked, very annoyed at having any reason to drop a single level of defense.

"Unfortunately our power supply does not allow us to use both the neutralizers needed to keep our test subject unconscious during the operation, and the devices that we use to protect ourselves from the mental scanning of Professor Xavier. This cannot be helped so we are doubling our defenses." The doctor said as he triple checked his equipment to insure that he was ready to turn our favored mutant into a mindless killer.

"Very well. Foot guard the lab and insure that nothing interferes with the good doctor's work." the black garbed ninja's immediately stood to attention, slapped their right hand to their heart and bowed to their master before disappearing from sight.

It was only a few seconds more that Wild Wolf was wheeled before the villains. Like a well oiled machine the group of assistances placed a metal helmet onto the unfortunate mutant while the lights flicked for a second.

"Alright people we have to work as quickly as possible. We don't want any interruptions."

This interruption in their powerful defenses, however, didn't go unnoticed by someone who had been looking for our mutant non-stop since he had gone missing.

"_Well now it seems that I've finally found you. I have to admit that no leads for a week does make one impossible situation. But I finally found you Wild Wolf. After all no one can escape the genius that is 'LITTLE WASHU"!_" a diminutive reddish pink haired woman said as she was flanked by two marionette-like robots

"_Thats right no one is as smart as you Washu._"

"_You are the greatest in the world Washu."_

"_Of course I am. Now I have a few people needing some good news._" The diminutive genius rushed out of her room in the Masaki's closest and right into a group of downtrodden people who were barely working through their daily routines out of despair for a struggling loved one.

"_Ahem everyone._" Washu smiled. The response was an amassed dull heh.

"_I have some good news. I know where Ranokami is._"

"_WHAT? Where?_" Ryoko said as she lept to her feet, looking for a fight.

"_Yes Little Washu, where have those dreadful villains taken Lord Tenchi's cousin?_" The princess's response may not have been so bold, but she was out of her royal kimono and in her battle dress in a few seconds.

"_Call up Professor Xavier and I'll tell everyone._"

The next scene is a four way communication between Washu, Professor Xavier, Col. Nick Fury, and General Hawk.

"The Himalayas? Damn. Alright Washu I don't have to tell you how big an area that is so how the Sam hill do you isolate one snake pit in that wasteland?" Fury asked while gripping a cigar between his teeth.

"Thought you might ask. I happen to have the precise Latitude and longitude location of Wild Wolf."

"Lady you are good." General Hawk smiled.

"Of course. Unfortunately I don't have any layouts of Cobra's bases or any idea of just how to get to that location."

"And that is why we have spies." General Hawk said. "Fortunately we do happen to have the schematics, and it ain't pretty. This is one of the largest, most fortified bases that Destro ever made, and no telling how many Cobra and Foot agents are waiting for us."

"I don't have to tell you how personal this is to the X-Men, to most of us for that matter." Xavier said, deep in thought. "As well as how Wild Wolf has affected us all?"

"Indeed Professor Xavier. As crown princess of Jurai I owe our latest peace with the Oni to our mutual interaction with Logan-san's son." Ayeka said as she made sure that she was ready to face whatever horrors await to save her friend.

"The more the merrier then. So we got S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Joes, the X-Men, and Juraians. Now gentlemen, and ladies, lets go over the finner points of this plan."

Let us again turn back towards Wild Wolf for a moment. Trapped in a large Plexiglas tube, his limbs are bound by iron shackles that trap them in place, his nose and mouth are covered by a breathing system, and most of his body had needles stuck into it leading back to the swirling mass of silvery metal. We could only hope that our heroes arrive in time.

And arriving they are. Streaming through the sky are three supersonic vehicles preparing to land close to the entrance way of the Cobra base. Another fourth vessel, a crystalline, black, meowing one, slowly hovers over the main base outside of the villains detection equipment.

As the three other aircraft land, the passengers silently exited and gathered on the edge of the snow-covered entrance.

"Alright Captain, you, Officer Kiyone, and Sci-Fi take out the communications system." Fury says while arming his laser rifle. "Duke, I need the rest of you're Joes and Beast to take out the power system. to this place. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents you follow Black Widow to take out these snakes armory, the rest of the X-Men you follow Wolverine and Nodoka to find Wild Wolf. The Rest of you are going to follow me to take out Cobra Commander and the rest of these snakes leaders."

"Yes Sir." the majority saluted as they broke off to do their various missions.

A Cobra Viper was making his rounds, unaware that he was being watched. Without making a sound, an extremely skilled and ruthlessly efficient warrior set up an attack and...

SLAM!

A spiked war mace came crashing down on the infantryman's head hard enough to make a permanent dent in the Viper's helmet Yes it was Xan Pu. Convincing everyone that she was just as capable of handling herself as Ukyo in a fight, she was now teamed up with Beachhead and Cover Girl in this labyrinth of evil.

"Nice." Covergirl said as the teenage amazon took a defensive stance in case the Viper was not alone.

Beachhead huffed as he ushered his two commards ahead. Taking out his pistol with silencer, Beachhead ushered the two others to follow. Although irritated like hell that he had to put up with the ex-fashion model and the Chinese princess, he couldn't argue with the fact that Xan Pu was a very capable and competent in a fight. " A knife would have been quieter."

"Didn't have clear line to his neck. Bash brains in work just as well." Xan Pu said in a hushed tone. Her English still needed work but heh.

With a base so large, and so well designed by Destro, power was supplied by a main nuclear reactor and several back-up gasoline engines. It was these generators that needed to be knocked out so that when Beast turned off the nuclear power. Quickly these three moved within reach of the weaker sections of the generators and pulled out compact packages of plastic explosives. Attaching them to the sides of the generators, the three place electric detonators in the explosives and quickly made their way out so that they do not draw attention to themselves.

When they had finished their work, Beachhead pressed a small electric device on his belt that updated the rest of the team that their part of the mission was complete.

"Okay Beast the detonators are set." Duke said as he turned his head towards the powerfully built mutant as the Joes stood right outside the vaulted doors of the power plant.

"Then my uniformed compatriots I suggest that we move with all due haste." McCoy said as smashed the door down and bounded into the room tackling two of the Cobra scientists.

"YO JOE!!" Was cried as laser fire burned the air as several more Cobra agents fell to the ground dead.

"Not that I want to rush you in the least, how much time is this going to take Beast?" Roadblock asked as he slammed two Cobra Vipers' heads together.

"In but another moment my poetic comrade...Ha there done. Now the rods are dropping and the power levels are off. You can tell Beachhead to blow the generators."

"Beachhead now." Duke called over a radio system to an earpiece on Beachhead's end. With the press of the detonator switch, a thunderous explosion roared through the generator room as molten metal ripped through the air.

"What the devil is going on?" Shredder asked as the force of the explosion rocked through the lab.

"We are under attack!" Mindbender yelled. "Quickly we must finish."

"Foot with me now." Shredder said as he went to face his foes, his minions carrying his armor for him as he tossed the sterile garb in the trash. "I will handle these fools. You make sure that our experiment is a success."

"Commander we are under attack and need...what the hell?" Doctor Mindbender cried as the communications system crackled dying, what was happening you ask?

In the communication's room, Sci-Fi was shutting down all the relay systems to prevent Cobra from being able to command a coordinated counterattack.

"Can't you work faster?" Kiyone asked as she fired again and again at the Vipers now running into the room. Her trusty pistol unleashed round after round into the air, until... "Damn I'm out." she said as her last magazine was empty.

"Too bad then you...AAAA" An unlucky viper cried as Captain America's shield soared through the air and slammed into the terrorist's temple. With skill and grace unknown to any normal human, the super soldier of WWII was able to grab his weapon in mid-flight and followed up with a back handed strike to the Viper's face. The attack launched the Viper into the air and out like a light.

"Here use this." Mr. Red-White-and Blue said as he tossed the villain's weapon towards Kiyone. Catching it in midair, the space cop set it hard into her shoulder and fired at the approaching foes, dropping them one by one.

"Thanks. Look out!" Kiyone cried as Major Bludd opened up with an AK-47 aiming at Captain America's chest.

Faster than the eye can blink, the adamentium/vibranium shield was in the path of the armor-piercing bullets that rickosheded harmlessly away. As the last round emptied the magazine, Major Bludd's weapon was knocked to the side and Captain America unleashed a powerful right hook to the Major's jaw. The force of the blow was so strong that several of the teeth in the Major's jaw were set flying, along with the Cobra agent into a wall.

"Thanks." Captain America smiled as he noticed that no more Cobra operatives were coming through the door. However since everyone that had come through the door was now lying in a pool of blood, there likely weren't that many more members left in the area.

"Alright people we are done. All systems are shutdown or re-routed so no one is going to be able to send or receive any communications. The entire Cobra network is down from this location." Sci-Fi said as he pulled himself up from the mass of computer relays that he was working on.

"Good. Then lets blow this place and go home." Kiyone smiled as she picked up a few more magazines from the ammo pouches of the Cobra troops that she proceeded to stuff in her jacket. "Never know if you may need some extra power." She said to Captain America's incredulous look.

"Lady I like the way you think." Captain America said as Sci-Fi pulled out a time-bomb and set it to go in five minutes. "Now come on."

About four and a half minutes later, Major Bludd would awake with a major headache. Spitting out blood and teeth, the one-eyed officer stumbled to his feet and was only just able to notice the electric numbers counting down by the computer terminal.

"Shit." With just seconds to go, the Major was able to stumble out of the room and down the hallway as...

KABOOM!

The explosion knocked Major Bludd several feet and out like a light again.

While the heroes had gained some great success, there were others who were not having so much luck. Let us now take a look at the Logan's attempt to find their son.

Wolverine was running down one of the many hallways with his wife and adopted child at this side. The elder Logan's nostril's were flaring constantly as he was trying to find any clue as to the location of his son. The only thing that changed the monotony of the steel walls and flashing lights was the occasional Cobra soldier who popped up with a machine gun or such that tried to get in the way of the unstoppable force that was the Logan family. The usual result of this was a swift death at the edge of a blade.

"This way." Wolverine growled as he ran up to the lab only to find...

"Oh my God..." Nodoka's voice trailed off. The lab doors were torn open from the inside. The various medical personal were stroun about, bleeding, and most dieing. About the only one who was not on death's doorstep was the illustrious Dr. Mindbender, now bandaging his wounded arm.

No utterance was made from Wolverine as he rushed the mad scientist and threw him to the ground, Adamentuim claws mere inches from the scientist's face.

"Were is my SON!?" Wolverine yelled a he slowly started to press his blades into Mindbender's scalp.

"I don't know, please. Don't kill me." The sputtering cowardice displayed by the villain was so true to his nature.

"Logan please get off this scum for a second." Nodoka said as she held her katana at her side. "I want a few words with him." The venom that was dripping from those words was far more terrible than anything within the fangs of any snake. Wolverine stood up and held Dr. Mindbender at his knees in front of both Ukyo and Nodoka.

"Now.." Nodoka started as she held her blade between Dr. Mindbender's legs, "what did you do to my son, and where is he. Keep in mind that your answers will decide whether you live or die today." She pressed the blade into Mindbender's groan, but not enough to slice his flesh. "And I may just be nice enough to let you leave with one of those intact."

"Heh very well. We attempted to succeed where the Weapon-X program failed with his father." Dr. Mindbender smiled. "We would have completely succeeded had you not shut-off the power before the nanites we have forced into his body could have their final program codes installed and send to his brain. Now he is little more than an animal, a monster." Dr. Mindbender commented as he chuckled slightly.

In a flash of silver came from the brunette now standing at the Dr.'s side as Ukyo's battle spatula was held right dangerously close to Mindbender's neck. "The only monster I see is you Frankenstein." Ukyo spat. "Now where is my brother."

"The ladies asked you a question bub. I'd answer if I was you." Wolverine's toothy grin shown in the dim light of the lab like a feral predator about to enjoy his kill. A stark contrast when compared to that of the two women threatening bodily harm to Mindbender. Their eyes were cold, gleaming, and enraged. Hell hath no fury...

"Very well." Mindbender relented. "When the power went out, the device used to keep him unconscious was deactivated. After we were able to bond the metal to his bones, he was able to slice himself free of the steel bonds he was held by and exploded out of the containment tank. After he attacked me and my men the escaped down the hallway like a bat out of hell."

"Monster." Nodoka said as she readied her blade to impale Dr. Mindbender, only...

"AAAIIIIII!" a cry of pain sounded as a wet slupt followed.

"Ran-chan..." Ukyo cried as she dropped her guard for a second. That second was all that was needed for Mindbender to drop to one side in an attempt to escape. In a spit second, though Nodoka rammed her sword into Mindbender's leg.

"We will deal with the maniac later." Nodoka said as she retreaved her blade and the Logan's made an exit.

As the Logans went out of sight, Dr. Mindbender chuckled and crawled to his desk. "The fools think that I could be so easy to capture?" The madman cackled to himself as he pulled out a tube of unknown chemicals and jabbed it into his leg causing the bleeding to stop. "I shall meet you again Logans, and I will have my revenge." Mindbender was able to hobble off to a secret escape route hidden behind on of the lab walls to safety.

Going back to Beachhead, Covergirl, and Xan Pu, we find that their success in taking out the power system has been a short lived one as they were now making their way out of the snake pit and find Wild Wolf. Sadly this victory was short lived. Before their passageway was a gang of black garbed ninjas led by one dressed in metal blades and helmet.

"Cobra's got to be pretty desperate to hire a bunch of punks like you." Covergirl smiled as she aimed are the ninjas.

"One never sends a punk to do a ninja's job." the leader said as he threw a ninja dart into the barrel of the rifle, jamming it.

With hard-trained instinct Beachhead switched to full auto and unloaded on at the ninjas. While several of them fell to the ground, many more dodged the rounds and fell back to more dependable positions. One, however, lept into the air and aimed his blades at the NCO's head about to kill him when...

CLANG

Xan Pu's war club passed right above Beachhead's head blocking Shredder's attack.

"If you wish to fight me, follow me." Shredder called back to Xan Pu before running off.

"No one attacks an amazon's comrades then runs off." The purple haired maiden cried out as she ran after her opponent heading back into the base.

"Xan wait its..." Covergirl cried out.

"Let her go, if we wait any longer then we'll get blasted into space along with the rest of this place once we get Wild Wolf out of here." Beachhead said as he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it down the hall at the ninja's.

KABOOM

"Now lets just get the hell out of here."

Xan Pu was running down the hallway after the male who had so arrogantly challenged her. Burning with Amazon pride she had followed him into a very large open area that seemed like it was meant to be a training facility. With her maces set in a defensive posture, she carefully entered into the arena.

"I had hoped that I would have the pleasure of blooding my blades today by driving them into the flesh of one of my rival's many foolish allies. Care to offer some of yours?" The vial voice of Oroku Saki cried out as he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere dropping down on top of Xan Pu.

"Who is rival of man who dresses in blades?" Xan Pu asked as quickly dodged to the side, rolling out of the way of her aggressor. Standing firmly on the ground with her legs beyond shoulder width apart to give herself greater stability, Xan Pu twisted her clubs in her hands in an effort to intimidate her opponent.

"I am the Shredder." The master of ninjitsu replied as he held on hand at his side and another guarding his face. "And the one I call rival is Ranokami Logan. A pathetic half blooded mutant who dares to corrupt the honor of the Foot clan by training under my Master Yoshi. Both of whom I will soon be rid of." The cold chuckle from the male made Xan Pu's skin crawl.

"Well Shredder, I am Xan Pu of the Chinese Amazons. Ranokami is my cousin bastard and I no like those who insult family. You, me, now." Xan said as Shredder charged at her.

"Interesting name. Tell me Shampoo, did you receive this name because of an obsession with your hair...or are you a beautician rather than a warrior?" the ninja mocked as the two began their fight.

Swinging her weapon in a wide arc, Xan attempted to smash her opponent in the side of the head. As the weapon came across however, Shredder ducked below the strike and caught Xan in the face with a round house attack. The blow was hard, but Xan was harder. She recovered and repositioned herself as she thrust her mace forward at Shredder's chest. Shredder lept backwards, just out of the range of the attack as Xan Pu brought her other mace down, shattering the flooring in doing so. Taking advantage of the brief gap in the amazon's attack, Shredder unleashed a hard kick right into the handle of the weapon, breaking the shaft in two.

Without the added resistance of her weapon holding her position, Xan Pu rolled under Shredder and switched to a two-handed hold on her weapon for greater stability. Shredder, meanwhile, had lept from his attack and did a handspring to increase the distance between himself and his opponent. This gap was quickly closed by Xan as she used the wall as a spring-board aiming at Shredder's hip to deal a crippling blow. Foreseeing the attack, Shredder moved back at the last moment so that Xan was exposed to Shredder's quick jabs at her legs. Shredder's blades dug hard into the muscle of the amazon warrior, weakening Xan's right side and causing serious bleeding.

"First blood...is MINE!" Shredder gleefully chuckled as the crimson liquid dripped from the claws at the back of his hands.

"Take that as your only victory." Xan Pu said as she grit her teeth and fought back the pain. With rage liken to that of her Greek ancestors of mythology, Xan Pu swung again and again at her taunting foe, only to find herself blocked or dodged at every move. A backward arc attack of her club found the wooden handle caught in the many blades of Shredder's forearm that had sliced into the wood splintering it. This was a mixed blessing for Shredder as he had removed the other large weapon on his opponent, but had also had cost him the use of his left forearm weapons.

"You amuse me Shampoo. It is a pity that I must end this so soon." Shredder said as he attempted to remove the wood from the matrix of blades on his forearm.

"My maces are gone, but I still fight." Xan Pu answered as she landed hard left and right jabs into Shredder's unprotected stomach region. Momentarily stunned by the surprise attack, Shredder was open to Xan sweep kicking the male to the ground and pinning his arms with her knees. Again and again she punched Shredder in the metal faceplate, causing them to dent under the heavy blows. This came as a great cost as Xan's fists were cut by the metal's sharp edges and nearly broken.

The Shredder was not down for the count though, and looped his legs around Xan Pu's neck and pulling her to the ground hard. As Xan Pu's air supply was cut off, and she sustained a great head-injury, Shredder grabbed her in a head-lock as he held his right hand's wrist blades to her back. All seemed bleak, until...

"SAAKIII!" a familiar voice cried out.

"_What the? So you survived the operation then? Pathetic dog?_" Shredder mocked Xan Pu's cousin as the amazon was barely breathing.

"_You betray the Foot clan, betray my family's trust, attack my home, abduct me for some sick...Mengalish experiment, and then nearly kill my cousin? You will pay dearly._" Wild Wolf yelled as his new adamentium blades gleamed in the dim light of the room.

"_As if you have any right to accuse me of anything. If you wish your doom, come and get it._" Shredder replied as he pulled the wood out of his forearm guard.

With speed unheard of for a human, Wild Wolf charged at his foe, slashing wildly. The metal blades nearly took off Saki's head, but only managed to slice of parts of Shredder's helmet and nicking his arms and chest. Before he realized what was going on, Shredder found himself under Wild Wolf's body as the mutant nearly impaled Shredder in the head. Missing just inches from the ninja's head, Wild Wolf had driven his blades into the hard concrete. Shredder took the opening and slashed upward into Wild Wolf's chest with his wrist and forearm blades, cutting into the mutant's flesh letting the blood spray from the shallow cuts.

Wild Wolf roared in pain as he arched upward, ripping his claws free of the flooring. Shredder brought his feet up and slammed them into Wild Wolf's face, causing the mutant's nose to break and him to stumble back several feet. As Wild Wolf stumbled to his feet, the cuts in his chest were healed and his nose was healing nicely. Shredder didn't stop his attack though, and brought both of his fists into Wild Wolf's chest, digging deep into the mutant's stomach region in a series of hard punches, then finished off with and x-slash in an attempt to open up the mutant's entrails.

This didn't succeed. for as Wild Wolf grew more and more angry, the boost in adrenaline caused the mutant's regeneration soared in strength as the cuts and slashes closed with fresh healthy tissue. Wild Wolf slashed downward and caught the edge of Shredder's helmet and faceplate, setting the mask free and leaving three neat cuts across Shredder's left forehead to cheek, just missing Saki's eye by mere millimeters, but Shredder was still within seconds of loosing his life.

"_I will not be defeated by a half-blood vermin like you Logan._" Shredder groaned in pain as he took out a spare tube from his belt and squeezed hard releasing the chemical cocktail into the mutant's eyes, nose, and mouth. Ablaze with pain, Wild Wolf was blinded for nearly a minute as the Shredder was able to make his escape to safety.

Xan Pu was weak from blood loss, but far from death's door as she tore off pieces of her clothing and bandaged her wound. She cried, cried so hard that her tears where torrents of salt water as she knew what she had to do. She was defeated by a male, and insane and evil male who represented all the evil that a warrior and master of physical combat in mortal flesh could. But as an amazon she had to say it...

"Wo ai ni...Airen..." There she said it. Hopefully her great-grandmother would expunge it since the one who defeated her was a traitor and his insanity would be detrimental to the Amazons, but there was always the chance... but that was for another day. Right now the closest thing that she had to a brother needed her help.

"Cousin are you...alright?" Xan asked as she stumbled towards her mutant relative.

"Xan...you? God what has happened to me? What have I..." Wild wolf cried. His eyes were clear as he took the first look at his new metal blades covered in blood.

"You saved my life. Whatever else is meaningless. You saved me and now I must save you." Xan Pu smiled at her cousin as she gently held onto her loved ones hands. "Here cover yourself with these." Xan pulled out a pair of Viper pants and boots to cover her cousin's essentially naked body.

"Xan you're..." Wild Wolf said as he smelled the blood and noticed the bandage on his cousin's leg.

"I'm an Amazon, I am not alien to blood. Just let me use you to help prop myself up. I know the way out." Xan Pu smiled, as bright and loving as ever before as she draped her arm over Wild Wolf's neck and led him out, slowly.

"Sorry if I'm not moving as fast as I used to...still getting used to this metal plating." Wild Wolf said as they headed down the hallway.

"I don't care. I'm just glad that you're alive." Xan replied as they headed down the dark hall way.

Back outside, amid the snow and cold, we see laser fire lighting up the sky along with tracer rounds. HISS tanks find themselves blasted from the sky by beams of crimson energy that seem to come from nowhere.

"What the Hell is going on here Destro?" Cobra Commander cried out as he ducked out of the way of being shot at.

"Out defenses are destroyed Commander and out power and communications systems have been destroyed. We are out manned and out gunned. We are being overwhelmed." The master of weapons replied as he took aim and unloaded round after round at the advancing opposition force.

"Commander we must retreat." Baroness said as she took a defensive position behind a metal wall.

"Never we must...What the?" Cobra Commander asked as three HISS tanks levitated into the are and were thrown back at his men. As the hunks of disabled war machine landed, a blast of ruby red energy shot out horizontally right at one of the tank's underbellies and melted into and through the plates of armor. The molten slag then exploded as the fuel cell over heated.

"Commander please we must..." Baroness said and the shrapnel began to rain down on their heads.

"COBRA RETREAT!!" Cobra Commander yelled as his forces fell back into the mountain fortress, followed closely by the heroes.

"YO JOE!!" the resounding battle cry of triumph was heard as victory was within reach for the combined forces of justice.

Cobra's forces were running as fast as they could with their tales between their legs, but with bolts from the blue raining precise attacks down on top of them, they seemed to be pinned into defeat.

"_Get back here you cowards!_" Yelled Ryoko as her energy sword sliced again and again into men and weapons. She aims her hand and bolts of red energy exploded all around the terrorists. "_I'm having too much fun for you to give up now._"

"_Ryoko focus we need to find my cousin._" Tenchi said as he blocked laser fire with his energy blade and struck hard into another Viper's shoulder. "_Washu any luck?_" Tenchi asked to the diminutive genius in the ship above.

"_Sorry Tenchi no luck. Seems these snakes took more technology from our Oni friends that I thought. I can't seem to get a reading from inside the actual base._" the pink haired genius said as she looked at the battle from above.

Back inside the base, we see our favorite mutant teenage male is walking with his cousin getting out of Dodge as fast as possible.

"How much further?" Wild Wolf asked as he carried on.

"Best if you not ask cousin. But less than it was earlier." Xan said as she tried to boost her best friend's spirit.

"Yea...just keep going. Until we find..." Ranokami said as he began to stumble and fell to his side.

"HA! Cousin get up. I can't carry you back." Xan says as her cousin props himself up against the wall of the corridor.

"Sorry Xan...I'm just so...tired...I need to..." Wild Wolf said as he slumps down unconscious.

"Cousin get up. Please...I need you to..." Xan pleads with her fallen relative. Pushing and shoving him, pounding on his chest, but he is deep in sleep...exhausted from his battles, he couldn't get up if he wants to.

"Let him rest kid, he's earned it." A voice said from behind Xan Pu.

In a flash of speed and slashing sound of metal against metal, Xan Pu had pulled a small dagger out and brought it to...

"Uncle Logan!?" Xan Pu cried with joy as she dropped her blade and threw her arms around her uncle's waist. "Oh thank you, thank you. " the Chinese maiden said as she became overwhelmed with joy.

"_Oh my son, what have they done to you?_" Nodoka cried as she held her boy to her chest.

"_Worry about that later Auntie. We have to get him and Xan out of here and back to a hospital as soon as possible. Hey Washu can you teleport us out of here we have Ran-chan and Xan Pu's wounded._" Ukyo asked as she held a small device to her mouth.

"_Got it. Alright Ryo-Ohki beam them up."_ Washu said as five humanoids disappeared in a shower of light and reappeared within the alien vessel. "Fury we got the package and wounded, can you take care of things down there."

"You can bet your ass we can kid. Pull out and head to safety, we've got things handled here." Fury said as he took a moment to get cover while advancing the fight.

"Roger." Washu said as the space ship meowed racing through the sky towards New York.

As the ship shot through the sky, the Cobra leaders, and one very cunning and wounded ninja, took the respite for being shot at from above to rocket to safety as their forces were overwhelmed. Soon the sky was full of escape pods, rockets, and jets roaring into the heavens to avoid capture at the hands of justice.

Sometime later, we find Ranokami resting in a nice bed with the sunlight streaming through an open window. Unknown time has passed since his rescue from the hands of Cobra, but he seems no worse for wear for the incident. With weary eyes, he awoke from his long rest with a heavy head but rose none the less. Without a word the young Logan stood up and got out of bed. Hungry and weary, he made his way down to the kitchen of the refurbished X-Mansion.

"So no idea when he'll get up?" Jean asked Nodoka as she tried to enjoy her breakfast.

"Hank said that it may be days or weeks, no way to tell. All that is known is that it is mostly exhaustion that anything else." Nodoka said as she sat down with a cup of coffee with Professor Xavier.

"Or it could be now?" Ranokami said as he walked into the room smiling.

"My son. Oh thank God you're all right. I'm so sorry that they took you...I'm so..." Nodoka cried as she hugged her son with all her strength.

"It's okay mom, I'm alright." Wild Wolf said returning the hug. "I may not be ready to be on the team again now but I'll be fine."

"Perhaps Wild Wolf, but I have a suggestion for you." Professor Xavier said as he wheeled himself to the younger mutant. "You had to go through torture no one should have to go through, and while you need to recover I think that you need to heal both your spirit and mind as well as your body. I have a friend, Moyra Mactagard, who works at a place called Muir Island off the coast of Ireland who specializes in treating mutants with physiological problems."

"Well Professor I still need to deal with my bones getting metal plated, added weight if nothing else, and until then I am a liability to myself and others..."

"That is very responsible young man. But first I think that you need a good breakfast, and let everyone know that you are well." Professor Xavier smiled as the rest of the X-Men walked into the room.

"RANCHAN!"

"COUSIN!"

Ukyo and Xan Pu cried as they latched onto Wild Wolf with hugs so strong that they threatened to suffocate their beloved family member.

"You okay kid?" Logan smiled as he slapped his son on the back.

"I'm okay for now pops, but I don't know when I'll be on the team again." Wild Wolf said to his old man.

"I heard that you decided to get help from Moyra." Logan smirked. "She'll have you good as new in no time cub. Now I say we need to celebrate." Wolverine commented as he went to get the grill ready.

"Hey Wild Wolf." Scott said as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yea Cyc?" Ranokami replied, not sure at all what the team leader was going to say.

"Don't know when you'll be back, but when you do, there will always be a place for you in the X-Men."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world Slim." Ranokami laughed.

Meanwhile we shall take a brief excursion to see a certain Steve Rogers at his New York apartment, recovering for his battle with Cobra, and doing his best to get along with the modern world...and sort of feeling lonely at the time. For all his physical prowess it seemed that he was never able to find a woman in this time that made him feel appreciated for himself. Raised in a time and culture so different than this, it seemed impossible for him to find a lady who appreciated a gentleman anymore. And thus why he never seemed to know what to do on his time off from battle.

Knock Knock

"Odd, wasn't expecting any guests." Steve said to himself as he answered the door. Before him was a teal-haired woman with a bandanna covering her forehead and dressed in a very sensible outfit of dress slacks and colored shirt who was blushing slightly as if she was trying to work up the courage to talk to him.

"Um hi, I'm not sure if you remember me or not...my name is Kiyone Makibi and a while ago you and I helped a certain friend of yours..."

"Oh of course come in. What can I do for you ma'am?" Steve smiled as he understood what the lovely lady was saying and ushered her inside and closed the door behind her.

"Actually I kind of wanted to...well thank you for saving my life...and well I thought it best to do it in person and..."

"Oh my pleasure believe me. In fact I owe you for alerting me to the guy behind me."

"Oh no need really...Look I really wanted to thank you...Captain America, and I know that you have a secret identity and everything...but I didn't think that there was any other way to thank you and...Well Fury owed Washu a favor and..."

"Please I understand Officer Kiyone about secrets." Steve chuckled slightly as his guest went into a full blown blush. "Fury told me about you too, and believe me it was a pleasure to work with you. You can call me Steve by the way."

"Kiyone then...Steve. I'm sorry if I interrupted any plans that you had but to thank you. If you want I can leave now...not that I'm trying to rush off or anything."

"Please it's no trouble. I actually had a free night and didn't have any plans, so I would rather have the companionship of a lovely lady like yourself than...well left me rephrase that a little...I would like to spend my time with you than alone."

"Well thank you very much, and to be honest I would rather be here right now Steve than spending my day off with my partner and the crazies in Japan." A brief moment of silence followed the embarrassment of these two. "So have you had dinner yet, because I am starving and..."

"Say no more ma'am. Please let me treat you to dinner, least I could do for you saving my life." Steve said throwing on his coat.

"I would be honored Steve, do you mind if I?" Kiyone asked as she looped her arm around her companion's.

"Please I would be honored." The two laughed as Steve locked the door behind them and proceeded to lead the space cop to a night on the town on his behalf.

All is not well, however, as we go over to Japan. We find Oroku Saki looking at his scared face in a mirror. Three equally spaced lines now mare his face from the top of his forehead to the base of his cheek. It is not truly vanity that compels the future "Lord of the Foot Clan" to gaze at his facade so deeply, but pride. The wounds in of themselves would mean nothing to him, but that they were made by his most hated enemy's blades.

"_Saki what is the meaning of this?_" the Elder Oroku asked his son as he barged into the room and noticed the helmet and blades.

"_I would think that the meaning would be obvious...father. How am I to be the leader of the Foot if I am not properly dressed for it?_"

"_That is not what I mean and you know it boy. Tell me why was it that you went behind my back and joined forces with...with... You have compromised years of work. You were to be the head of the Foot at my passing after we have cleaned it of the waste within it._"

"_I couldn't agree more...FATHER!_" Saki cried as he closed the distance between himself and his father and jabbed a knife straight through his own father's heart. "_Your teachings nearly lead to my death, your foolishness in underestimating an opponent merely based off his genealogy almost cost me my life. I will never make that mistake again. Like you yourself said...your death and the cleaning of the waste shall allow me to become the leader of the Foot._"

As the Elder Oroku bleed to death, his uncaring son made his way outside. The still air hung like a thick blanket on Saki's skin, yet something was off, something...interesting.

Suddenly the world around Saki began to twist and turn on itself, as if nature was being bend out of alignment. Then as suddenly as it had happened, it stopped. Fighting back the sensation of nausea that was causing Saki to stumble slightly, the ninja noticed that a crater had formed in his garden. Within this crater was a pink, blobish creature crying in pain.

"NO! Those fools how dare they exile me to this miserable dimension, how dare they bring me to this world."

"Who are you creature? Speak or I may end your suffering permanently." Shredder said as he pulled a sword at this being.

"I am Lord Krang emperor of Dimension X hominid. I once ruled over a vast army so powerful that none dared challenge me, the mere sight of me caused all to fall to their knees in fear...who are you?" the creature, this...Krang was reminiscent of a human brain, yet had it's own mouth and eyes.

"I am Oroku Saki: The Shredder to you. And what reason should I have to not just put you out of your misery now?"

"I may not look like much Shredder. But while my body is reduced to this, my mind can offer you vast technical knowledge beyond anything your species has ever imagined. Help me and it is yours."

"And what insurance do I have that you would not betray me? If you are as powerful as you say then you could turn on me once I have done your work."

"Ah a being after my own mind. HEHE. Very well Shredder I will relent. I will give you all that you require, for just one request. A new body for my mind."

"A fare enough trade. So be it Krang, you have yourself a deal."

To be continued.

Author's Notes: sorry for the delay but I have had a very busy schedule recently and have just had to deal with a very bad cold so I have not been in a very creative mood. Also this is a very long chapter and I had a lot of ideas to get to work together. Please be kind enough to leave a review for this.


	12. Chapter 12

Through the Years Chapter 12

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G. belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ranokami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"English"

"Chinese"

"_Sign language_"

"_Japanese_"

Recap:

In our last episode of _'Through the Years' _Wild Wolf was freed from the evil clutches of Cobra and the Shredder by the combined forces of our heroes, but not without some serious problems from his experiences. Heavily traumatized from the events, Ranokami is now headed to Muir Island via the Blackbird to be treated by Dr. Moira McTaggart. Now we see our hero making the hard journey toward recovery.

The skyline of the Northern part of the Atlantic Ocean was a black mass of seeming emptiness. As Ranokami glanced out the window, the young mutant wondered just why his life had become so complicated. What had he done to deserve the latest torment that he had to go through...then he thought of what had Uchan done to deserve to loose her father? What had his mother done to have to deal with Genma for a husband for six years? And what had his father done that had deserved to have been tormented so much in his life? The answers to all of the questions was the same: Nothing. Taking a deep sigh, the teenage mutant tried to relax and try to enjoy the trip.

"Enjoying the view, my son?" Nodoka asked as she placed her hand on her son's shoulder. It would be a very tenuous time for all of the Logans to go through with the only son of the family having to spend a long duration healing from what has happened to him, so everyone decided to see that Ranokami made it to Muir Island safely.

"Not really...just gazing, really." The reply to Nodoka's question was empty, just as the sky her son had been looking at. The Blackbird's graceful flight path was like a phantom effortlessly floating through the seemingly endless bleakness towards the Northern Irish coast.

In truth Wild Wolf was depressed, just thinking of his recent turn of events. Being tough meant accepting what had happened and getting on with it, but this was a perfect time for our favorite mutant to do so.

Ukyo was accompanying her brother on the trip as well, though she had found the scenery far more conducive to sleep. The brunette had curled up in the seat right behind Wild Wolf and murmured lightly as she dreamed. She knew that it wouldn't be long before she and the closest one she has ever had for a brother would be staying far from 'home' for an extended period of time and almost couldn't bear to let him go. The fact was this was going to be the first time that the two of them were going to be separated for any length of time since the two friends had been reunited after Logan rescued his son from Genma, and Ukyo didn't want her best buddy to leave her again.

However, the young lady knew in her heart that Ranokami needed to go to Muir island and be helped by someone Professor Xavier trusted. It was just hard for Ukyo to let go of those she loved for any period of time, even if she knew that her Ranchan was going to return to her soon enough.

As far as the patriarch of the Logan clan was doing, well he was busy working the controls of the Blackbird and hoping to High Heaven that his son would be okay. The cub was tough, no question, but Logan wasn't exactly sure what lasting effects the procedure Mindbender had done to his son would be...and because of that Logan was really temped to stay on Muir Island with his son just in case. Logan knew very well that the kid wouldn't deliberately do anything crazy, but Logan remembered well what happened when he first contacted people after he was turned into a living wfeapon.

Logan gripped the controls a little harder as he thought about the bastards at Weapon X who had stripped him of his humanity and forced him to be a monster. And then remembered that his son had been spared the final act of Cobra's vialness. Without the mind-control systems operational then the cub should be in a lot better position than the older Logan had been years ago. Not to mention that Wolverine had responsibilities as a member of the X-Men and it would be best for everyone that Wild Wolf was able to be treated for his experiences in a place where he just would be another guy. And if Chuck thought this Moira gal was good then that was good enough for the Canadian.

Meanwhile, at Muir Island we see that a middle aged woman with short cut brown hair dressed in a typical white lab coat and wearing a pair of reading glasses was now looking thought the protective clear wall lovingly at her son, who had just begun to develop his fantastic mutant powers. Or rather frightening powers.

Proteus was now fast asleep, the very rare occurrences in which he was actually peaceful and it broke his mother's heart that she it would be years before they would ever really be able to make contact with one another again. But that would have to wait for now because the Island was about to get a new guest, at least for a short period of time.

"Ah Moira. how goes the wee lad's progress?" A Irish tenor voice asked as a man with strawberry blond hair stood behind the woman smiled at her.

"Ach Sean, don't sneak up on me like that." Dr. McTaggart said as she punched the man in the shoulder playfully. "To answer yuir question, it doesn't seem like he's going to be making any real progress for many years."

"Sorry, but if ye have the time Xaiver's friends will be landing soon and I thought that ye would want to meet them." Sean Cassidy said as he lead his associate towards the small landing area just outside of the very advanced building that serves as the laboratory and hospital for the island.

The unusual commotion was noticed by yet another guest of the facility, and this one was in her own way just as unique as Moira's son. In the form of a medium sized canid, a very feral looking wolf to be more exact, the teenage mutant had been sleeping curled up on her bed as if she was the pet of the house. Now where she may have had loyalty greater than just about any real canid, Rahne Sinclair was nobody's pet.

The teenage mutant knew that Moira had once again gone to the secret part of the complex as every night, and was once more depressed because of it. But something was different this night. The canid mutant's ear swiveled as she picked up the sound of foot steps heading past her room, which was odd for this hour and caused the wolfgirl to rise from her slumber.

Leaping off of the bed, and morphing into her halfway form, Wolfsbane walked out of her room and towards her adoptive mother.

"Ah Rahne, what are you doing out of bed my dear?" Moira asked as the very feral looking teenager was now looking at her feet sheepishly.

"Well ye were making noise and I wanted to see what it was all about." Rahne said as she held her hands behind her back, and doing everything else to seem as least threatening as possible.

"Well love, an ol' friend of Moira and I has someone who needs some help coping with how shall I say it, new development in their life." Sean smiled as he pet the little girl on the back of the head.

"Oh, so someone just learned that they're a mutant, and humans have been less than kind to him?" Rahne asked as she remembered how her own father had attempted to perform an exorcism to expunge her developing mutant powers.

"Well yes and no, apparently this particular young man has had some recent hard times and one of my oldest friends wanted this particular young man to have some time to deal with what has happened to him before Xavier will allow him to go into the field again." Moira said as the small dot in the sky coming from the West was getting larger and larger.

"Oh, so who is it that's going to be staying with us Moira?" Wolfsbane asked as she thought hard as to what exactly she had been told, and only just getting a rough idea.

"A very nice young man who apparently has traveled around the world being trained by the best martial artists known on Earth, has met extraterrestrial royalty, can speak at least three languages fluently, and knows sign language." Moira listed as she thought back to what Xavier had told her about her new patient.

"Really? He sounds so cool. Is he cute?" Wolfsbane asked as she reverted to her completely human form so that she could look her best for her potential first boyfriend.

"Well that you'd just have to see for yourself Rahne. Sadly I wasn't given a picture of the young man, but regardless I expect that you will be on your best behavior young lady."

"Yes Moira." Rahne smiled as the jet slowly descended onto the landing platform and the retractable ladder folded out from the side of the long jet.

Meanwhile back inside the Blackbird.

"Alright people we're here." Wolverine stated plainly as he shut down the massive jet engines and turned all the electrical equipment off. "Naptime's over so get up and move."

"Oh geez it's over already?" a very tired Ukyo asked as she stretched like a cat with her limbs splayed out and her mouth stretched out in a wide yawn. "Must have been a quick flight huh Ranchan?" Ukyo smiled as she wrapped her arms around her "brother's" neck.

"Wha? Oh yea Uchan it was sort of a fast trip." Ranokami said as he gently squeezed his adoptive sibling's wrist before flipping the unlatching mechanism for the safety belts he wore. "But don't worry having missed anything, the sky was so black that you couldn't really see anything." Wild Wolf was still mostly lost in his thoughts as he got out of his seat and headed towards the exit ramp, stopping to pick up his luggage along the way.

"Perhaps my son, but you weren't exactly paying attention to what was going on in front of you." Nodoka smiled as she gracefully made her way down the center walkway. The Logan's Matron's pace was slow and weighted as she seemingly just glided in her kimono.

"Well I was thinking a lot and as far up as we were the view wasn't all that much." Ranokami said as he effortlessly lugged Ukyo's and his carry-on luggage.

"You don't need to do that for me Ranchan. I can carry it if you want." Ukyo commented as she tugged slightly on her closest buddy's arm.

"Nah I can do it. Besides my mom would have a few choice words with me if I didn't do it." Ranokami smirked in his usual lighthearted manner. With no seen effort and no interference with his ability to navigate the narrow space between the chairs and down the stairs to the landing platform where his parents had already gotten to.

"Ah Logan it's nice to see you again." Moira said as she approached the man who was now striking a match to light the cigar held in his lips.

"Same here. Take it that the scruffy looking ragamuffin's your kid?" Logan smirked as he inhaled the thick taste of the rolled tobacco. Nodoka, not very amused at her husband's comment, elbowed the Canadian with an indignant look on her face. Logan just took it with a small chuckle.

"Aye, and I guess that the well dressed woman that just elbowed you would be yuir wife?" Moira smiled as she got her first look at the female crazy enough not only to marry Wolverine, but also to bear his son.

"Moira let me introduce my wife Nodoka. Nodoka this is the woman Chuck believes can help our boy."

Logan's wife was a very dignified looking woman who held herself with a great reserve, but obviously she was bordering on breaking down probably due to the problems that her son had gone through that Moira had only a brief idea about.

The Japanese matriarch forced herself to smile as she looked at her counterpart. Moira was about Nodoka's age with deep brown hair and a lovely Scottish accent. Her presence was comforting and she seemed to exude an aura of helpfulness. This comforted Nodoka as she was still contemplating whether or not Charles's suggestion was a wise one.

"Hello McTaggart-san. Thank you for opening your house to us and for accepting to treat my son while he heals from being tormented by villains and traitors." The red-headed housewife bowed to her host.

"Think nothing of it dear. This place is just like Charles's own institute, open to all mutants to be treated for psychological problems." Moira answered as Nodoka rose up from her greeting.

"And as far as this little one goes," Moira said as everyone looked at the skinny redheaded teenager standing behind Moira. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine named Logan, Logan this is Rahne." Moira said as the older woman placed her hand on Rahne's shoulder and edged her forward.

"Hello, I'm Rahne Sinclare." There was a feral look to this sixteen year old, not too dissimilar to that of the males of the Logan clan. "And I'm please to meet ye, but I was told that it was your son that was supposed to be here?" Wolfsbane asked, looking more towards having someone her age to socialize with than anything else and not knowing that her choice of words would instantly cause the instinctive reaction of...

"Yea my son is so manly!" Nodoka yelled with fan unleashed and feet moving in the strangest dance the three hosts had ever seen.

"Good grief Nochan." Logan groaned as he smacked his forehead with his hand.

Sad to say for our antagonist, he just had to appear at that moment while effortlessly lugging his and Ukyo's luggage to where his parents had been talking with the apparent owners of this isolated location.

"My son's attracting women just by reputation, I'll be a grandmother for sure soon!" Nodoka continued on with her antics as Ranokami and Ukyo finally walked up.

"Ranchan I think that Auntie may need some psychiatric help, no offense." Ukyo sighed as she placed her hand on her best buddy's shoulder.

"None taken Uchan." Ranokami sighed as a sweatdrop developed on the back of his head.

"Look I'm sorry about my mom's dancing about like that. She does it every time a girl makes a comment about me, especially if they happen to be cute, or pretty, or single, or...." Ranokami started to list off on his fingers while looking up into the dark sky, not even really taking notice at the redheaded teenage mutant becoming very embarrassed.

"Ranchan!" Ukyo said as she knocked her brother in the head playfully, more due to her not wanting to damage her hand than anything else. Adamentium skulls are very thick things after all. "Did those Cobra jackasses make your skull more dense than it already was? Jeez." Ukyo shook her head.

"Sorry." Ranokami conceded. "Look I'm not trying to embarrass you or anything...uh what was your name again?" Wild Wolf asked sheepishly.

"Rahne, Rahne Sinclair. And I take it that yuir the one who's going to be here a while?" Rahne was very happy to finally have someone her age to be with, and didn't hurt that he was very cute.

"Yeah, sorry if that's going to inconvenience you or anything. I don't mean to break up anything that you planned on doing."

"Oh dinnae even think about it, we're more than happy to have ye here; or at least I know I am." Rahne smiled and blushed. "I guess ye heard my name, so what's yours?" Rahne asked as she motioned to take some of the bags from her guests.

"Ranokami Logan, and this is my best buddy Ukyo Kounji. I'm the one who's going to be staying for a while." Ranokami said as he shook Rahne's hand.

"Oh, so you're not brother and sister then?" Rahne asked while very put off by the fact that about the only chance at a relationship was about to go up in smoke.

"Not biologically. I was officially adopted after my father died so don't worry I'm not dating my Ranchan here." Ukyo said while thumbing towards the males holding all the bags.

"What difference does that make Uchan?" Ranokami's reply had an instantaneous and predictable reaction. Both Ukyo and Rahne facefaulted.

"What just happened?" Rahne asked as she picked herself up and dusted herself off.

"Nothing much, just Ranchan here made some oblivious bone-headed comment and the logic gap forced us to fall down. Happens a lot in certain parts of Japan." Ukyo explained as the brunette brushed the front of her garments off.

"Alright. Well, how about we continue this conversation inside and Run-o-cami you can drop off yuir stuff in yuir bedroom?" Wolfsbane smiled as she ushered the other two teenagers towards the main complex.

"It's Ranokami actually." the teenage male said as he walked on towards the housing complex, the new female in his life was now walking on the other side of him and doing everything to keep pace with him.

"Oh, sorry."

Getting back to the adults we notice that Moira was now shaking her head at Rahne's actions, not to mention Nodoka going on about how manly her son was. Something now tugging at Moira's mind that she had to protect her daughter from a experienced player, but this was contrary to what she had just seen from Logan's son completely missing the fact that Rahne was flirting with him. What was up with this family?

"Don't worry about it, Moira. Nochan's one who loves big families, but the cub doesn't go around hitting the sheets with every cute girl around." Logan smirked as he lugged his and Nodoka's night bags. "If an entire village of amazon babes wanting you to stud them didn't get him to become a playboy nothing will." Logan thought to himself as Nodoka followed her husband, Sean, and Moira to where the members of the Logan family would be staying for the night before leaving Ranokami to be treated.

The teenagers had by this time gotten to their individual quarters and dropped off their stuff.

"What do ye think?" Rahne asked as she was busy showing the other two teenagers her room.

"Very nice. Not as open as our rooms at Xaiver's mansion, but I think I think that you've done a great job of decorating here."

"Why thank you... Ukyo, right?" Rahne asked as she had Ranokami sit down on her bed next to her.

"Yep, and your name is Rahne?" The Brunette asked as she inspected the few items that decorated the other teenager's room. Book stand, dresser, a couple of toys, and pictures. These pictures were of Rahne, her adoptive mother, a few even had Professor Xavier, and just a couple had...

"Hey Rahne, is the wolf in this picture your pet?" Ukyo asked as she gently picked up the photo and sat on Rahne's other side.

"Well, not really..." Rahne sheepishly replied, not sure as to how exactly answer.

"May I see?" Ranokami asked Rahne who smiled and nodded at the young man's request.

"Well, it's a very beautiful animal whosoever's pet it is. Very graceful looking body, nice color of coat, apparently very friendly." Ranokami smiled, finally now really becoming more aware of the fact that Rahne was actually there. Sadly our hero had been dealing with some serious mind-numbing jet lag. Along with his higher level functions returning were his secondary mutation powers so as he focused his attention on the cute redhead next to him he began to see the aura outline of a very familiar canid.

Rahne was now blushing again as she indulged in her new love interest's complements.

"So you really like wolfs then, Ranoka...." Rahne said while straining to say the male's name.

"Ranokami, and it actually means 'Wild Wolf' in my native tongue." Wild Wolf smiled, figuring out that there was more to this particular girl than she was letting on. "But I like all kinds of animals. In fact in China I met a girl who introduced me to how tigers were awesome." Ranokami smirked.

"Pepar Mint and I had a great time while my family visited relatives in China." the son of Wolverine continued. "She and I both loved to spar for hours on end, race each other through the wilderness. Heck we even had some fun hunting together from time to time." Ukyo was now wondering what Peppar Mint's lycanthropic nature had to do with Rahne's pet.

"So yuir both from China then? That's so cool." Rahne asked as she scutted next to her new friends.

"Actually no, but I can understand your mistake. I'm actually full blooded Japaneses, Ranchan here is half Japaneses since Logan-san is Canadian, and our Cousin Xan Pu is a Chinese Amazon who lives in a village full of female warriors who are not only great martial artists, but known for their great beauty." Ukyo explained in a friendly manner. "And on top of that we mostly live in New York but make a journey every year to Nodoka-san's ancestral samurai manner."

"Uchan you're almost bragging." Ranokami said as he gave an incredulous stare to his best buddy.

"Oops, sorry Rahne." Ukyo said as she scratched the back of her head.

"No it's okay. Uh... why do ye keep saying 'chan' and 'san'? It's kind of confusing me."

"Oh sorry sugar. 'Chan" is used as a term of endearment between us, sort of like how some people use nick-names for friends, while 'san' is a term of honor used to denote respect to someone." Ukyo explained.

"Ah I see, so if ye were my friend then what would ye call me?"

"Well I'd say it would be Rahne-chan then, because lets face it Rahchan sounds more like a guys name. And not really fitting someone as cute as the girl in this picture." Ranokami said as he pointed to the wolf in the photograph before him.

"What... how did ye...?" Rahne shot up off the bed not sure if she would have to defend herself or not, and battling back the embarrassment that she was now going through at having her cover blown.

"Relax please I'm sorry to upset you." Ranokami said as he was shocked with guilt. "Look I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings. It's okay really if you're a werewolf; Ukyo and I don't care right?" Ranokami said as facing his sister.

"Wait, werewolf? Ranchan what are you talking about? Are you saying that the wolf in the pictures is actually Rahne-chan here?" Ukyo asked as the gears in her head slowly worked to figure what was going on.

"Well maybe not a real werewolf. Uh, look Rahne-chan I'm a mutant, just like Uchan here, my father, Xavier-san, the X-Men, and I kind of figured that you and your family were mutants too, right?" Ranokami explained.

"Well my mother isn't, but her friend Sean is, and so am I. My powers are kind of like those werewolves have in movies and books, but I'm not a werewolf. Tell me, please how did ye know?"

"I figured it out when I saw the wolf-aura around you. See not only do I have all of my father's powers such as inhuman senses, retractable claws, and inhuman regeneration, I can tell the true nature of people around me by just looking at them and focusing a little. I detect this as a superimposed transparent aura around the person, and with my friend Peppar Mint I was able to see her hybrid form superimposed over her human one."

"Hybrid form? You mean that she was actually a.."

"Yep sugar she was a real weretigeress just like her mother. With all real werebeings if the mother is a lycan, then you are a lycan, and Pepar Mint loved to show off her new ability to control her transformation into her hybrid form in front of you Ranchan." Ukyo seductively teased her best friend.

"Uchan knock it off." Ranokami response to Ukyo's teasing was not exactly the most polite but it caused Rahne to shift from being defensive and ashamed to being amused by her two guests.

"Well I guess I shouldn't really be ashamed, but I didn't want you to be frightened of me." Rahne said as she relaxed.

"Well how about you show us yours and we show you ours'? What do you say Ranchan?"

"Okay, but I'd suggest standing back a little bit." Ranokami said as he lifted his forearms up and closed his hands into fists. SKINT

Six razor-sharp gleaming blades were now exposed to the air as Rahne stared in awe at the weapons that were actually part of Wild Wolf's body.

"Are those real?" Rahne's voice was hushed as she was still trying to find it.

"As much as the rest of us. Of course a couple of weeks ago they would have been bone, but thanks to a piece of filth named Dr. Mindbender my entire skeleton is now laced with an indestructible metal known as adamentium." In a flash the blades returned once more into the teenage mutant's body.

"I take it that is why you're here?" Rahne asked as she knelled in front of Wild Wolf.

"Part of it at any rate." Wild Wolf sighed as he ran his fingers over his knuckles.

Rahne's response was swift and decisive. She grabbed around Wild Wolf's chest and gave him a huge hug. In the process she had shifted into her hybrid form and whimpering slightly.

"Wow you do look like a werewolf Rahne-chan." Ukyo commented. "Except that you don't have a tail."

"Well I'm a mutant who only acts like a werewolf. So what do you think?" Rahne said as she let the two other mutants get a good look at her.

"Well it's not the same as a real werebeing, but still very cool." Ranokami said as he pulled out his wallet and started to shuffle through it. "This is what a real weretiger looks like so you can guess what a werewolf would look like."

Rahne looked at the picture of this "Pepar Mint" and noted that yes real lycanthropes had tails, but everything else was essentially the same between her and this other girl. Then when she looked at the other people in the photo she noticed Ranokami, Ukyo, their parents, and a girl with purple hair who was hugging Ranokami.

"Hey Ranokami, who's this?" Rahne asked.

"Oh her, that's our cousin Xan Pu, and the wrinkled little person next to her is Elder Cologne, Xan's 300 year old great grandmother."

"Okay. So what's your power Ukyo?"

"Let me see if I can get this right. I have the ability to 'absorb, focus, amplify, and redirect energy that is directed at my body in the form in which I absorb it'. Essentially I'm a living Tesla coil." Ukyo said shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't think that my mother would like to have us firing lightning bolts all over the room." Rahne chuckled slightly.

"Or fireballs, or punching through walls, or....." This continued listing of potential disasters unleashed by Ukyo's mutant powers was greeted with a bashing of the back of the head with a giant battle spatula. "Hey!?!"

"Now that I know you felt jackass." Ukyo said as she inspected her now dented weapon. "Geeze Ranchan and I thought that you were hard headed before."

"Very funny Uchan, but yea demonstrating her powers in here wouldn't exactly be conducive to anyone's health." Ranokami groaned as he felt the pain of Ukyo's slap dissipate.

"Changing the subject, so you wouldn't have a problem with me being in this form while your here right." Rahne asked as she did her best to show off how proud she was of her body.

"Course not sugar. Furry may not be my style but it looks great on you." Ukyo smiled as she looked over the now much taller girl.

"Thanks. I didn't know how you'd react so."

"Naw. Considering some of the things we've seen in our travels I'd say that a mutant pseudo-werewolf girl is kind of more or less normal. Sorry but we've had a long trip and I'm kind of tired right now." Ranokami yawned.

"Well see you later today then." Wolfsbane said as she kissed him on the cheek, causing the teenager to blush slightly while leaving the room.

"Wow that's a first. Usually it takes longer for a girl to actually work up the nerve to kiss him, you're a day ahead." Ukyo teased.

"Please don't belittle it Ukyo." Rahne blushed.

"Oh I'm not. The problem is that Ranchan attracts women like a magnet and he can't help it. Now imagine a guy like him in a village mostly populated by women who have the power to make men fall to their knees by their looks and by kicking there asses."

"How did he come out of there still single?" Rahne asked as the idea of her new love interest in such a situation would be.

"Because Logan-san saved Xan Pu and so his family are members of the tribe, thus he was immune to their tribal law of being defeated by an outside male and having to marry them. Unfortunately for them, the art of seduction is a lost one to the tribe." Ukyo commented as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Uh he's not gay is he?" Rahne asked, contemplating that since so many females before her had failed that she would to.

"That may have explained a few things, but no. I think it's that he has so many women throwing themselves at him that he doesn't always trust their motives. Or that we've heard of a few times that less that scrupulous women have used deception to infiltrate and destroy some of our friends'." Ukyo thought back to the likes of Baroness and Zarrana.

"So he doesn't know if he can trust me or not? Well I'll just have to show him that I'm the most trustworthy person around." Rahne cried, right before yawning. "After I get some sleep. Sorry but I was asleep right before you arrived."

"That's okay sugar. I slept all the way here so I'm going to go look for something to eat." The Brunette said said as her new friend continued to yawn and pulled back her covers.

"Sure, kitchen's down the hall. Just please turn off the lights." Rahne commented while sifting under her sheets and started to dream.

"Night sugar." Ukyo said leaving her hostess to sleep.

It was a few hours later that Rahne awoke with a smile on her face and almost wishing that her hybrid form had a tail so that she could have it pointing straight up to show her happiness.

"Ah Rahne you're looking great this morning." Banshee commented as he was sitting down to an early lunch. "You wouldn't have happened to see our new guest have you?"

"Last night. Said he was tired and went to bed right before I did. Are he and Ukyo about?" Rahne asked as she started to go through the fridge looking for something to fill her stomach.

"Aye the little brunette? She's still about I think. The Logan's are going to be here for the rest of the day before they fly off again so she may be looking around the island, but I think her brother's still in bed."

"Thanks Sean." Rahne said as she shut the fridge door and hurried down the hall to where her new buddy was liking sleeping.

Ranokami's room was dark and still as Rahne quietly opened the door and slipped inside. She studied the sleeping body with great interest, and couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked. She also wondered if this boy wore a shirt or not when he slept. Blushing Wolfsbane decided that her friend had been sleeping long enough and needed to be woken up or he would just sleep the day away, but she didn't know how to...unless.

Shifting completely into her wolf form, Rahne trod up to the bed and placed her paws on the bed and started to lick the sleeping male's face. It took a few good licks to rouse the sleeping male, but she was able to get her new romantic interest to open her eyes. And Rahne had to admit, he had really nice eyes.

"Well hey there Rahne." Ranokami yawed as he woke up and scratched the back of the other teenager's ears. "Guess I need to be up for something right?" Rahne nodded her head as she got off of the bed and sat near the door.

"Well I've probably slept for long enough already, and I'm really hungry, so let me throw a shirt on and we'll get some food." Ranokami said as he shuffled through his luggage for something to cover himself with. Rahne took note that this particular young man seemed to love to work out with how well build his upper body was, and he had this awesome red tattoo on his right forearm. Made of interchanging complete and broken bars it looked very cool, but at the same time it didn't really seem artistic in any way.

"Well this should be good enough just to get some grub." The son of Wolverine commented as he pulled on an undershirt and headed out the door.

"How about it Rahnechan?" Wild Wolf asked, scratching the back of the wolf's ears. "You know, you're wolf form's better looking in real life."

Rahne was on cloud nine as she turned into her hybrid form and took her new friend by the arms.

"And you are just too sweet to a lass you know that?" the Scottish girl smiled as she nearly pulled the male's arm out of it's socket.

"Wow you must be hungrier than I am." Wild Wolf commented as he got pulled towards the kitchen.

On the topic of Ukyo, she was actually walking along the shore of Muir Island with Moira McTaggart seeing what kind of place her Ranchan was going to staying at for the next few months.

"So what do you think of our place?" Moira asked the smaller brunette.

"It's okay I guess." Ukyo said as she kicked on of the many stones lying around on the ground into the water. "Lot bigger than what my father and I lived in before Logan-san and Auntie adopted me."

"Since we are the only one's out here on the island it will also allow your stepbrother to recover far from prying eyes and from any conflict. I promise that Ranokami will be fine after a while, and you can call at anytime you want if you start to miss him." Moira comforted the teenage mutant, who was beginning to show the classic signs of a close brother/sister relationship being separated.

"Thanks McTaggart-san." Ukyo dryly commented. "It's just weird yeah know? Ranchan and I have been together for years. There when we needed each other, through thick and thin; I've even helped Mr. McCoy pull buckshot out of his shoulder..." Ukyo sighed. "We've trained together, fought villains together, broken records in the Danger Room together, met extraterrestrials together, and now after nearly loosing him to terrorist scum...I feel like I'm loosing him again."

Ukyo finally had enough and sat down indignantly.

"Dear you're not loosing your brother." Moira said as she rubbed Ukyo's shoulders. "He needs help to deal with what he's gone through recently, and not just the experimentation. He killed people Ukyo, and..."

"Only because they were trying to kill him, he's not a murderer McTaggart-san." Ukyo cried.

"I know he's not Ukyo. He is, however a trained fighting machine who has had to face some very life changing situations. This changes a person deeply, and it would be best if he deals with them in a place were he can come to grips with what has happened without danger of locking up at the worse possible time."

"But Logan-san has had to kill before and from what I've seen he deals with it." Ukyo asked, not certain of the difference.

"Kid I had years to deal with the fact the world's a hard and violent place, and I don't want you or my son to have to handle it the way that I did." Logan said as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "I had my mind turned into swiss cheese, betrayed by those that I thought were friends, and on top of that I've forgotten how many lives I've had to end by these."

In a flash Wolverine's blades were exposed as he looked at them as if to see them covered in blood, yet they were the same metallic silver they always were.

"And I have your word Moira that you will make sure that my boy's going to be back in fighting form, right?" Logan clenched his fists as he retracted his claws.

"I'll do what I can, but I'm more concerned with the young man being able to recover and have a normal life ahead of him." Moira said, knowing that Logan's anger was not really meant for her, but still not wishing to push Wolverine's buttons.

"That is all that we can ask from you McTaggart-san. I hope that you will understand that any help for insuring my son's humanity is why we are here, but please don't be disuaded if he will maintain a combative edge." Nodoka mentioned.

"He'll likely be spending a lot of time in your gym, track, or other training area practicing. Please don't think that this means he is violent or that he is acting out against imaginary foes. He holds practicing his art as a responsibility to not only himself but to his teachers as well."

"I think that could be arranged. I also concede that he will have to deal with the additional weight of the metal added to his skeleton." Moira replied, having remembered Xavier commented on how adapt all the members of the Logan family were in hand to hand combat.

"Well lets go see if the cub's up already." Logan said as he draped his arm over Nodoka's shoulder and gently led her to the dinning area of the complex. "It's okay Nochan the kid's going to be okay."

"I know Logan-kun, but this is the first time in which I will be parted from him in a very long time and I already miss him terribly." Nodoka nearly cried.

"Babe Chuck wouldn't suggest the kid coming here unless he thought that it would be the best place for him to be at this time." Logan said hugging his wife.

"True, but that doesn't mean that being away from him doesn't hurt." Nodoka commented as she leaned into her husband and allowed him to be her strength.

Some may have thought that allowing such actions was akin to being married and carry about others had made Logan weaker and more civilized, and how wrong they would be. Logan would kick anyone's ass who needed a whopping, and that was because he was a man not because he was some overaggressive warmonger. As a man Logan knew how to take care of business as needed if it was how to fix a busted flat to bust a jackasses head along with making sure his wife was comforted and protected whenever needed. Logan couldn't imagine how much leaving their son on Muir Island hurt, but he knew that he would support her no matter what.

Nodoka hated to leave her son here, but knew she had to. The perpetual mother lioness, Nodoka was very protective of her children natural born or adopted, and it hurt her most that she couldn't do anything to help her beloved son. Moira seemed as if she was genuinely concerned with Ranokami's well being, and as another parent could sympathize with Nodoka's situation.

As the four people walked into the dinning area, they were surprised to see Ranokami enjoying a pleasant conversation with Rahne over lunch.

"And you're saying this princess of an alien empire was throwing herself at this Atari guy, but all that he wanted to do was hit on every other woman he was around?" Wolfsbane laughed.

"Yep, and let me tell you Lum was a very attactive girl who usually worn only a tigerskin bikini and matching boots, so something was wrong with Ataru...including the fact he is a pervert." Ranokami smiled as he enjoyed the large amount of food in front of him.

"True, so you were in downtown Tokyo with your cousin Tenchi, his girlfriends, Ataru, Lum and her friends when..." Wolfsbane continued as she intently listened to her new friends fascinating stories of far off lands that she had never seen.

"Oh son you're finally up." Nodoka unintentionally interrupted. "And excuse me but who are you my dear?"

"Mom this is Rahne, she's kind of a werewolf like mutant." Ranokami answered as the girl now coated in fur greeted the Matriarch of the Logan clan with a very friendly, yet toothy, smile.

"Sorry that I didn't show you earlier ma'am, but many people don't look fondly on beings who can turn into wolves. I didn't want to scare anyone or look threatening." The teenage pseudo-lycan stood much taller than Nodoka, and could easily frighten people without meaning to, so Nodoka couldn't fault her for not wanting to share this secret with anyone.

"I understand Rahne-san, but you don't have to be afraid of any my family mistaking you for a monster from a B-rated horror film."

"I understand. Ranchan here was telling me all about your adventures with alien royalty."

"Ranchan?" Nodoka looked at Ukyo wondering if she knew where Rahne learned that particular nickname.

"We talked last night Auntie." Ukyo answered her adopted mother. "Figured it was Rahne-chan's choice to tell or not."

"That was very considerate of you Ukyo." Moira said, wondering how on Earth Logan's children were so well behaved....minus the enormous pile of food now on his plate that looked like enough for a week. "Now since you seem busy Ranokami, how about you join us for a tour of the facility after you eat, and Rahne dear don't pester the poor lad."

"Oh she's not pestering me McTaggart-san, Rahne's just been listen to me go on about some of our more memorable experiences."

"And I would definitely remember meeting extraterrestrials. Especially with all the interesting characters that tagged along with them."

"Well I see that the two of you are doing fine, so once you are done eating how about you join us for a tour of the facilities?" Moira asked.

"Oh sure, thanks McTaggart-san." Ranokami said as he once again turned his attention to the grub in front of him.

It wasn't too long before Rahne was once more dragging Ranokami around by the arm, much to the confusion of the teenage male. In a rushed pace, the teenage Logan was shown all the interesting parts of the complex that he would be spending at least the foreseeable future. The complex had an Olympic sized swimming pool, a complete gym, and several rooms filled with strange equipment that looked straight out of some sort of Star Trek medical bay.

"Wow, and all this stuff is for only three people?" Ranokami said as he took in all that was around him.

"Usually, but from time to time we have several people staying here at a time." Rahne answered. "Though for the foreseeable future it's going to be only you, me, my mom, and Sean. I hope that you won't have a problem with only having me around your age to talk to?"

"Oh no not at all Rahne." Wild Wolf smiled. "I think I'll have my hands full already with re-training my body and getting treatment from McTaggart-san anyway, so I won't be going bored here for a long time."

"And any free time you have I'll be more than happy to spend it with you." Rahne said as she hugged her new friend once more.

It was sooner than Ranokami want to admit when his family said their goodbye's to him, at least for a little while.

"Son, I hope that you will be on your best behavior as a guest of McTaggart-san's home." Nodoka said as she hugged her only son goodbye.

"I will mom, don't worry."

"Take care Ranchan, and I want to hear all about what goes on while you're away...and I know that everyone else wants to hear all about your adventures when you get back." Ukyo said as she hugged her best friend in the world goodbye.

"Don't worry Uchan I will."

"Take care kid, we'll be back before you know it." Logan said as he slapped his son on the back.

"Always do pops." Ranokami said as his father followed the females of the family up the ladder of the Blackbird. In a few moments the jet's engines ignited, the ladder was retracted, and the vessel was streaming across the sky headed West. Thus leaving Ranokami in the care of Moira McTaggart and her family.

"Well the day is still young so what would you like to do?" Rahne asked her new play buddy.

"Not sure, but I thought that I'd hit the gym for a while before taking a swim." Wild Wolf commented as he watched the Blackbird disappear in the distance as a speck of black. "How about you?"

"Well I figured that I'd just hang around you for a while, if you don't mind?" Rahne smiled trying to be as demure as possible.

"Sure, just as long as you don't smell like a wet dog in hybrid form." the teenage Logan joked.

"Oh like your one to talk 'Wild Wolf'." Rahne slapped the other mutant teen playfully. "You're the one who only threw a shirt on before you filled your gut."

"So?" Ranokami said as he joked with the taller female.

"So? You smell like stale chips." Rahne joked as she started running away at high speed.

"Why you." Ranokami started after the teenage female with all of his strength, but since he was now several pounds heavier with the additional metal plating he had, was never able to actually catch his new playmate.

"What's the matter, can't keep up with little old me? I thought that you were the best?" Rahne prodded as she made her way around the complex, Wild Wolf close behind.

Rahne was joyous in her victory, but after a few moments of self-congratulatory indulgence she noticed that her guest was in horrible shape.

Gasping and wheezing, Ranokami's face was red as a beet and dripping with sweat. "Rat Cobra bastards....bones too heavy...Rahne-chan I'm going to hit the showers and tomorrow I'm going to start serious muscle training." As he uttered these last words, the Logan teen fell to the ground.

"Ranchan? Oh darn it. Mom Ranokami just collapsed." Rahne said as she gently carried her new love interest to the clinic, under much strain.

"Good gah Ranchan what did those monsters fill your bones with? Concrete?" Rahne huffed and puffed, and nearly fell down several times.

After a few hours rest, and some serious disciplining from Mora about how he shouldn't push himself as hard as he was, Ranokami started back to training himself to compensate for the addition weight in his body.

Day after day the Wild Wolf would be up before the crack of dawn hitting a gym for hours before taking a shower and getting a good breakfast. After digestion, during which the mutant teen would be hitting the books to make up for any time lost from the classroom, the Logan teen would swim for half an hour doing laps. After laps, our favorite mutant would take another break to hit the books, and then he would jog around the entire island four times.

Rahne had to admit that the newest teenager on the island had some serious dedication, and trying to keep up with his constant pace was pushing her to her limit. And she still hadn't gotten anywhere relationship wise with Wild Wolf since he arrived. Though she had to admit that helping him with whatever plan he had was able to get her a few hugs and the occasional kiss on the cheek as a thank you.

Moira had been watching the young mutant as well, and the near obsession at which Ranokami worked with was giving her great concern. Several times the good doctor had to nearly bribe Logan's son to sit down and talk about his taking of a life, his torture at the hands of Cobra, and the betrayal he was dealt.

Weeks passed by as Ranokami was now able to out run, jog, and lift Wolfsbane, much to their mutual gratification. But basic physical training was now only the start of the daily regime for Wild Wolf. Back to fighting form, the real training began.

It was in one of these types of training exercises that Rahne decided to join our favored mutant, in any way needed.

"Hey Ranchan, I've been wondering...since all the stuff we've already done together...if you would be kind enough to let me learn what your doing?" Rahne smiled as Logan's son was in the middle of a Foot Style kata.

Ranokami stopped for a second. Questioning whether or not he should or could actually teach Rahne anything. On one hand these were supposed to be the secret moves of the Foot and Ranokami wished to honor Hamato Yoshi and his legacy, but on the other hand the actions of Oroku Saki had compromised the style and if it was to have any honor left....

"Well I guess I could teach you some of what I've learned...but you must promise me that you'll never do anything to disgrace what I am about to teach you."

"Sure why would I?" Rahne asked, wondering what the heck her play buddy was talking about.

"Well, look this is difficult for me, but what I am about to teach you is more than just how to throw a fist, a kick, or even any other individual move. What I am about to show you is the culmination of several centuries of training, conditioning, and with it the honor and tradition of what was once a noble clan of ninja."

"Okay, so this is what that Sock guy and you trained in? Okay I promise I won't do what that monster did with it."

"It's Saki, and I'll take you at your word then." Ranokami said. "Now the first lesson one must learn about ninjitsu is that unlike all other forms of martial arts it is passive in nature. To demonstrate that we shall begin with learning how to tumble."

"To roll on the ground?" Rahne asked while scratching her head.

"To avoid an foes attack and to learn how to minimize the damage of an impact." Ranokami said as he began to move behind Rahne and began to move the wolfgirl's limbs through the proper motions. Rahne went along with this movement for a few moments, but after a while she seemed to relax a bit as she let Ranokami just manipulate her body. It was less intament that it sounded really since Rahne was the one slipping into dreamland imagining herself with her new love in a romantic setting, and Wild Wolf was only trying to get Rahne to instinctively know how to move herself in combat situations.

Moira was watching all the while, and couldn't help but notice how her daughter was reacting to the supposed "patient's" actions. While it was very sweet, and reminded her of when she was younger with a certain bald telepath, she was concerned about the two forming a connection merely because they happened to be the only two teenagers of opposite sex on the entire island.

"On the island, now that is an idea." Moira thought for a second, as a rather devious idea came to light. "Rahne, Ranokami, could you stop for a minute." The Irish brunette said as admired how beautiful and graceful the moves that the two teenagers were doing together actually were...forgetting of course that they were deadly arts of coldblooded killers.

"Ah mom, Ranchan was just..." Rahne commented, blushing at having been caught.

"I was showing Rahne-chan here how to..." Ranokami tried to counter.

"I know exactly what the two of you were doing, and I don't mind. I just wanted to know if you would be interested in going to the mainland tomorrow with me?" Moira suggested. "Since your treatment has gone much better than suspected Ranokami, I thought that you would be ready to deal with society again. So do you feel up for it?"

"Sure McTaggart-san, I'd love to get a look around your country with you." Ranokami said as he let go of Rahne and bowed to his host.

"You really mean that I'll get to show Ranchan around all of my favorite places? Oh thank you mom." Rahne said as she hugged her mom like crazy.

"But the two of you are to be on your best behavior right?" Moira asked while petting Rahne.

"Sure mom." Rahne smiled while letting her mother go. "It's just that I've not been to the mainland in so long and I just can't wait to show you all the neat sites Ranchan."

"Okay I guess, but in all honesty I hope that the trip will be more boring than those to Japan." Ranokami said as he sat down for a moment.

"So do I young man, since you are trying to relax are regain some sense of normalcy." Moira said as she sighed, knowing that she probably just played part in motion a cosmic comic setup.

"Normal is a relative term McTaggart-san." Ranokami groaned, knowing that there was noway for him to be able to escape the chaos heading his way.

As we fast forward a few hours, we see that Rahne was showing her play buddy some of the best places the teenage pseudolycan could think of. Ranokami went along as best he could, but shop after shop was beginning to get repetitive, and he was getting hungry.

"Hey Rahne-chan could we take a break from all these stores and get a bite to eat?" Ranokami's stomach punctuated this by growling like a bear.

"Sure. Sorry I get so excited about being able to stretch my legs that I loose track of time." Rahne sheepishly giggled as she led the young man into one of the local pubs to get a bite.

It seemed like Ranokami was walking into a bad tourist commercial with all the wood furniture, "colorful" locals dressed in drab woolen garments, and the traditional dishes that were steaming on the counters...okay also the copious amount of beer that the young Logan was wondering if he had somehow walked into a stage production.

"Well now Moira how about yea let Rahne and Logan's boy have their own table to themselves?" Sean said as he placed a hand on Moira's shoulder. "Besides I don't think that those two are going to do anything over a meal."

Ranokami let Rahne pick their table and let the girl sit before him. Rahne was totally focused on her new love interest, who was now scanning the room making sure to take in all the people surrounding them. Just because he was supposed to be relaxing was no reason for him to be sloppy.

"Well Ranchan what do you think of Ireland so far?"

"It's alright I guess, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." The Wild Wolf replied to his female companion. "So is this where you were born, or is this just the nearest city to McTaggart-san's island?"

"No this isn't where I was born, just the nearest big city to visit from the island were I can get a glimpse of the outside world. I'm Scottish by birth so it's kind of like when you go to China but you're Japanese." Rahne said, giving Wild Wolf something to think about.

Before the waiter had time to come to the two's table and get their orders, a commotion started towards at the counter involving a woman dressed in a simple brown robe and the cashier.

"I told yea before las we don't accept this fake money here." the cashier said as he tossed the bills in the woman's face.

"Please sir it's good money, and I haven't had anything to eat in the longest time. Please I beg you.." The soft voice from under the robe pleaded.

"Away with you." The burly man said as he was about to push the woman outside.

"Hey bub that's no way to treat a lady." Wild Wolf said as he got up from his table and got between the cashier and the young woman. "Now what is your problem?"

"Nothing yea need be getting into boyo, this one just trying to pay for a meal with some fake bills and I don't accept cheats here." Wild Wolf looked over the bills for a second and sighed as he pulled out several green pieces of paper.

"You accept American here?" Ranokami said as he pulled out a twenty.

"Of course boyo, everyone does." The man eyed the bill, but before he could snatch it from the teenage male, the Federal Note was once more in the mutant's wallet and the wallet back in Ranokami's jacket.

"Good she'll be sitting with me and the cute redhead over there." Ranokami said as he led the girl to the table where Rahne was sitting.

"Thank you very much; I know I don't have much but if there is anything I can offer you." the woman said.

"Forget it. And for the record your bills are Sudan Pounds, worthless here." Ranokami said. "I know that they have the same name but they aren't worth the same amount."

"Thank you, but how did you know?" The unknown woman asked.

"Trained by US Special Forces for years. Stuff like that's important to know if you have to be deployed around the world. Name's Ranokami, what's your's?" Wild Wolf's smile was one of the first friendly things the young lady had seen in a very long time, and as she pulled her hood back the teenage mutant saw that her skin was paler than normal, but her features were non-caucasion. The medium blond hair on her head was covered in dark brown spots, and her eyes were the most reflective green orbs that Wild Wolf had ever seen.

"My name is Cyan, and I am eternally grateful for your kindness." Cyan couldn't help but notice the very different features that her benefactor possessed. His face was much different from that of the locals but his eyes were the same large circular orbs. His hair was jet black and tied in a little tail at the end.

"It's not a problem really, besides you look like you could use a good meal." Ranokami chuckled as he pulled the chair next to him out and let the girl sit down.

"So Cyan, what exactly brings ye to to this restaurant? After all tourists usually make sure that their money is accepted." Rahne asked, not sure as to why she was beginning to become suspicious of this "Cyan" woman.

"I'm sorry but I'm really from a far off land and I wouldn't be here if my land hadn't suffered serious drought causing mass starvation of my people. I'm a refugee and I only came to town because I had heard that they accepted what this paper was called for food...I didn't know it was different from your money." The words Cyan spoke were honest, and sad.

"It's alright. How about you two order anything you want from the menu and I'll just pay for it?" Ranokami smiled. "It's okay right Rahne?"

Rahne decided to just go along with Ranokami's idea...and the female mutant had to admit this Cyan didn't seem like a bad person, unfortunate but not bad. It was something else that made the teenage Sinclair uneasy, but it couldn't be that she was jealous of the attention Wild Wolf was giving her right? I mean that was just due to the same giving nature that Rahne fell for after all. Besides it wasn't as if the guy she had tried to get to know for the past weeks was making passes at this new girl?

"Sure, no problem with me." Rahne said. "So Cyan you said that you were from far away, how far was it away from here, and why did you decide to come to Ireland?"

"Rahne, please..."

"Oh no I don't mind Ranokami. My people were invited to this land by ones who had been a long time enemy of ours made peace with us and we moved here to their homeland. It's a very complicated story and I don't have the right to tell all of it." Cyan said, trying hard not to seem rude or evasive. "It's a problem that has been going on for far too many centuries to count."

"As far as from where my people came from, have you ever heard of the Savannah region of Africa?" Cyan asked while she went over the menu.

"Only in National Geographic magazines." Ranokami said as he scratched the back of his head. "But I've got a general idea where it is."

"For most of my life it was my family's home, and had been for countless generations. It was a harsh land but we were well suited to it. We had more than enough food and water, even in the hardest times, but this was different. You can't know how thankful I am that you were willing to pay for my meal."

"My pleasure Cyan, I know exactly what it's like to have everything you've known change for the worse in a blink of an eye. If Rahne's mother is kind enough to welcome me to her home to recover from being used as a guinea pig for some made scientist, the least I can do is pay for lunch for a cute girl who needs a good meal." Ranokami smiled.

"Thank you so much. You are a very uncommonly generous and kind human...man I mean, generous man Ranokami." Cyan slipped, blushing furiously.

"Well thanks, and my friends call me Ranchan." the Wild Wolf smiled as he too blushed at the new female's complement.

And what of Rahne you ask? She was clutching her fists while trying to keep a level of civility. Oh yea she was jealous as crazy about this new girl who just popped out of nowhere.

"Why thank you both very much. If there is anything I can do for either one of you, please don't hesitate to ask." Cyan said, shortly before the server got their order and drinks.

The meal itself progressed with Rahne doing the best that she could to refrain from yelling at Cyan to back the Hell off of her intended boyfriend...which the other two sitting at the table took as a sign of constipation.

Sadly the melodrama of teenage romance was a paltry matter compared to what was about to happen. From down the street an unmarked generic black sedan came roaring at top speed, the driver seemingly uncaring as to his own fate. As the vehicle approached the restaurant, the three teenage mutants' inhuman sense of hearing caused them roused from their conversation and all three turned their heads to see the car about to crash through the window.

Faster than most people could think, Ranokami tossed the table towards the window, grabbed Cyan and Rahne, and used the upturned table as a springboard to launch himself and his friends several feet from the impact zone.

"What the Bloody Hell is your problem?" Rahne yelled at the driver.

"Look jackass you want to kill yourself that's your business, but you don't have the right to take others with you." Ranokami yelled at the attacker, who he was now approaching with the intent of kicking the man's ass.

"There's only one who's going to die today boy, and that is the werecheetah with you." The man said as several other men rushed out of the car with assault rifles ready.

Cyan didn't know what to do, so she immediately shifted into her hybrid form and was about to run, but both Rahne and Wild Wolf stood between her and her attackers. Rahne may have been jealous of Wild Wolf's attention directed towards the new female, but she wasn't spiteful enough to even think of letting someone die because of it. It wasn't how God taught his people to act, and would be an insult to the way Moira raised her.

"You want to seriously rethink you're last statement." Logan's heir said as six metal blades shot out from his forearm. "Before you wind up regretting it later."

"Punk wants to play hero, fine yea freak." Bullets started to fly through the air as Wild Wolf suddenly and inexplicably disappeared from sight. Rahne shifted form as she and Cyan ducked behind the bar counter and tried to make it to a back door exit.

"Are you a werewolf?" Cyan asked, hoping that her kind's new friendship with them would allow her safety.

"Naw, I'm a mutant like Ranchan. But right now lets just get you and my mom to safety." Rahne said as she lead her associate to where the adults were sitting.

"Rahne what is going on? and who is that cheetah girl with you?" Moira said as she grabbed her daughter in her arms.

"Mom Cyan, Cyan my mom. Look we've got to go now before any of us get injured." Rahne said looking around for another doorway. Finding none, the teenage psuedowere decided on tossing a chair through one of the windows.

"Wait cailin where's Ranokami?" Sean asked as he looked around and finding no sign of him.

"He's back with the bad guys, I have to..." Rahne was stopped cold as Sean placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Get your mom and your friend out of here little lass, I'll get the boy." Sean turned towards the attackers and launched himself into the air towards the site of violence.

Wild Wolf was still nowhere to be seen, but at least two of the attackers were now unconscious with their body armor reduced to shreds, while those that were still fighting were reduced to using handguns as their main weapons were in pieces.

"What the Bloody Hell is this wanker?" One of the remaining foes said as his wrist was suddenly grabbed, twisted till it broke, and felt something slam into his face and brake his nose. Before he could recover from his unseen attacker's assault, the man found his face slammed into the armor siding of the attack car, and fell to the ground in a heap.

As fewer men now were left to fight, they were getting more and more desperate. Sean used this and unleashed a powerful sonic cry stopping the group cold as they clutched their ears. Sadly this also caused our hero to wrench in pain from the acute wavelength's even greater effect on him.

"Damn it Cassidy-san what was that for?" Ranokami cried as he clutched his ears.

"Sorry me boyo, but yea can't expect me to stand by and let you have all the fun can I?" Sean smiled as he unleashed a more focused blast of his voice towards one of the stunned attackers causing him to be knocked into a wall. "Watch out boyo!" Sean yelled as the last conscious opponent was getting to his feet and pulled out a knife in an attempt to stab our favorite mutant in the back.

This is where years of training and skill meant all the difference as Wild Wolf was able to pivot on one foot, and in one easy motion brought his blades across his body and sliced through not only the knife, but also took his attackers hand with it. Then using his opponents own momentum against him, swung the villain over his back and slammed the now crippled attacker to his back.

"Idiots." Wild Wolf said as he straighted his cloths and retracted his claws.

"They usually are boyo, but that doesn't mean that the job be any easier." Sean observed as he landed next to the younger mutant. "Now lets get the police to deal with these dirt bags while we see why they wanted to kill your new friend?" the two mutants conversed as they left, but they did so prematurely.

One of the assailants wasn't quite as knocked out as they would have hoped. And in a blind rage of revenge, this madman pulled out a thermal grenade and tossed it at our leaving heroes. Superhuman hearing has it's advantages though, as Ranokami heard the pin of the grenade pull away from the spoon with a signature metallic ping. Instantly recognizing the sound, the teenage mutant pushed Sean out of the restaurant, followed by a massive fireball.

"Ranchan!" Rahne and Cyan cried as two male bodies came flying through the air. The larger one, Sean, landed safely away from the blast zone thanks to the additional thrurst from Ranokami's push. The smaller of the two wasn't so lucky. As Ranokami slammed into the ground his back was smoking and his clothing was covered in burning embers.

After the few moments of shock wore off, Sean got to his feet and tried to clear his head but his ringing ears were making that well nigh impossible.

"Boyo, you alright?" Sean asked as he looked around for the one who pushed him to safety, but the stumbling hero was only able to make a few steps before he nearly crashed to the ground. Nearly since Moira grabbed onto her friend who was able to help him stumble to a bench out of the blast zone.

"Sean just sit down and let the medics look at you." Moira insured her friend as she started doing preliminary first aid on him.

Rahne and Cyan didn't wait to be told what to do as the sound of Sirens blared from the arriving EMTs. The teenage females made it to our hero at the same time, flanking him on either side.

True to form, the son of Wolverine was more than tough enough to deal with the force of the blast, and it was good fortune that none of the glass shrapnel had lacerated his back. Ranokami was a little weak in the knees as he stood up and tried to get his bearings with his ears ringing like the bells of Notre Dame and his back feeling like it just came out of a barbecue pit, but those problems would be healed soon enough.

"Can't I ever get a brake?" The young man sighed looking up to the heavens, receiving no response.

"Ranchan you alright?" Rahne asked as she stretched on of Ranokami's arms across her back. "Don't scare me like that ever again." the redhead was nearly in tears as she and Cyan helped their mutual love interest to the ambulance.

"Ranokami...Ranchan. You saved my life today." Cyan smiled as she wrapped her arm around Wild Wolf's back and squeezed gently. "I just wanted you to know how thankful I am that you were willing to help me, and that you are my hero." The werecheetah in human form was crying tears of joy as she helped the male to medical assistance.

Acting on impulse, and not knowing what was going to happen to her knight in shining armor, Cyan threw herself at Ranokami and kissed him passionately before the medical staff could interferer. When the werecat finally let off of the male's face, Ranokami had a thousand yard stare going and was only just barely able to whisper his reply.

"It was my pleasure." Safe to say that our hero had at that point lost all conscious thought processes and was the perfect patient for the Emergency Medical Services now looking him over.

To be continued....

Next time in Through the Years

Ranokami's first love gets to stay with him on Muir Island and Rahne doesn't like that at all. Can Rahne's friendship with Wild Wolf survive her romantic competition with this new comer? What else lies in store for Wild Wolf and what is Shredder up to now? All will be revealed in my next update, whenever that is.

Authors notes: sorry that this took forever to be typed, but I hit a creative blackhole and was really busy lately. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and will be kind enough to leave a review behind for me. Also I would like to thank the Uncanny R-man for his help in editing this for me since I know next to nothing of how Wolfsbane is supposed to talk being unfamiliar with the character. Till next time readers.


	13. Chapter 13

Through the Years Chapter 13

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G. belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ranokami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"English"

"Chinese"

"_Sign language_"

"_Japanese_"

Recap:

Last time in Through the Years we are introduced to Cyan of the werecheetahs and a few lycanthrope hunters and both found that there are things much more dangerous than lycanthropes in the world. In an attempt to prevent the truth about mutants from being leaked to the media, and more importantly to help one that they believe to be a mutant, Moira has had Cyan to come to Muir Island till some other decision is made, much to Cyan's enjoyment and Rahne's annoyance.

Now we find that Cyan is shooting her head left and right taking in all the sites and sounds, and some smells, of this wonderful craft that is transporting her to her host's home. Never before that the werecheetah been in the air and couldn't begin to understand the wondrous magic that allowed this "plane" to fly.

Rahne was not thinking about how wondrous it was to be able to be in the air, but rather how this new girls innocence and overall enthusiasm which posed a realistic threat to any chances the young mutant had with a certain son of Wolverine.

"I've never been so far about the ground before." Cyan said as she calmed down just enough to look out the window of the small craft and saw the open water below. "What magic keeps this wonderous craft above the ground?"

"T'ain't magic my dear colleen." Banshee said as he chuckled slightly. "Just a we bit of physics. If you want to see real magic just wait till I start singing."

"Sean you're bragging again." Moira commented as she navigated the craft.

Cyan was feeling like a kid in a candy store as her tail was held upright and her eyes were as big as dinner plates. Her deep routed cat curiosity was going into overdrive at all the glowing lights and shiny surfaces. It was so wondrous that she couldn't help but go into hyperactive cheetah mode.

Ranokami thought that Cyan's wonder was one of the most adorable displays he had ever seen, and he wasn't all that into cute things.

"So Cyan how are you enjoying the flight so far?" Our favorite mutant commented as he saw the lycanthope's head pressed against the window.

"Oh it is so wondrous Ranokami. Back in my home in Africa never were never able to see so far above the ground. It must greatly help with hunting." Cyan observed. "Or it would if it was a little closer to the ground."

"Not really me friend." Rahne interjected. "Ye need a helicopter to hunt from the air."

"Well as much as I am glad that you like the view Cyan, we are about to land so please put on your seat belt and put your chair in an upright position." Moira politely commented.

Rahne was just fuming slightly as she got ready for the landing. The Scottish teenager really was beginning to detest being around the African woman and it wasn't just the cat/dog thing. Rahne truly had had enough of the naive catgirl and wanted to get her as far away as possible from the man she loved. Unused to scheming though, the young mutant wolf girl was doing her best to find figure a way of keeping the new girl away from the only chance Rahne has ever had for a boyfriend.

It's so hard to get people away from what you really want, and this fight doesn't take and prisoners.

Moving back to Japan, we see that there is another one who is focused on scheming. But for this particular individual it was second nature and unlike the honest Rahne, this particular schemer was a professional. Oroku Saki was in the process of transforming his ancestral home into a modified command center for his future ninja empire.

"Are you certain this machine will work Krang?" The armored assassin remarked.

"Your world may be a primitive mudball you overgrown monkey, but it is at the cusp of a technological breakthrough. Enough so that I can modify what your kind has developed into technology so great no force on this planet can challenge you." The pink blob creature still unnerved the Shredder, nearly making him physically ill.

However the opportunity that this Krang individual offered could not be turned away, so long as there was always a back up plan to deal with him if something were to go wrong with this new alliance like what happened with his last one with Cobra Commander. That particular disaster is one Saki swore he never would do again.

"Now tell me my dear friend how has your....project progressed?" the slobbering extra-dimensional entity cruelly lapped his razor sharp teeth.

"I have already insured that I shall soon be replacing Hamato Yoshi as the new teacher of the foot clan as well as removing those that would challenge me in my continuing rise to power." Shredder smiled as he worked out the plan in his mind. Merely killing Yoshi wouldn't do any good as he would be the most obvious suspect for the deed. What needed to be done is a total removal of Yoshi from the foot and that would require exile several thousand miles from Japan. If Shredder killed the middle aged man then he may become a martyr, but this way would completely discredit him even if Yoshi figured out Saki's plan.

"Excellent." Krang chuckled as he looked once more over the developing fortress before him. Not as splendid or fear inspiring as his great fortress and garrisons full or Stone warriors, but this would work well enough on this world.

"Now my dear friend, I have a price for all that I have given you." Krang smiled as he greedily wrapped his arms,or tentacles as the case was, around and around with great delight.

"And that would be?" Saki asked with perked interest as to just what this pink blob of brain matter wanted from the future Master of the Foot clan. Granted Shredder knew that all of these technological marvels weren't going to be free, but what the extra-dimensional being could possibly want from someone who was from a relatively technologically primitive realm caused the ninja to ponder.

"All that I desire from you Saki is a new body to match my powerful mind." Krang's vocalizations were always ended with a seemingly deep throaty growl, if he had a throat from which to growl from.

"And how exactly am I to acquire this new body for you?" Shredder asked halfheartedly, more concerned on his developing fortification than actually assisting his new ally.

"Considering your world does not have the ability to provide me with a suitable physical form as of yet, I shall have you build me one." Krang's answer was simple, logical, and filled Shredder with a deep curiosity as to how exactly such a feat were to be done.

"Very well Krang." Shredder mentioned with seemingly little care as to his words. "I promise that as soon as I am able to, I shall build you a new body."

Shredder of course would just have to prolong this unknown date of construction until such time as he felt it best served him.

"So Krang, how goes our plan for a more...mobile fortification?" Saki smiled with great and terrible glee. The cogs where turning in Saki's mind constantly as to what the final product would look like.

"It is going according to plan" The blob of pink matter "groached". "But will take far longer than this mere retrofitting effort 'groach'. It will take massive amounts of resources to finally complete and your planet's finest technology just to attempt it."

Krang smiled as he unfurled a schematic with his two primary tentacles. "But I am fairly sure it will take only about 5 years to built the basic structure and defenses to where it will be the most powerful weapon on this planet." Lapping his teach Krang smiled. "A suitable position for any truly great conqueror wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed Krang I would." Shredder said, wondering just what dimension it was where eye balls on top of golf balls where the favored design, but if it was as good as it was supposed to be then it could look like a giant floating pyramid.

Somewhere in the nexus of thought and reality an evil so ancient that his name spread fear like the plague sneezed and wondered when the time of Apocalypse would be.

Let us once more return to the the island off of the land of Ere.

As the personal jet landed on Muir Island, Cyan was caught between kitten like excitement, making her want to run all over and see everything that the island had to offer, and the shear awe of this unknown place.

"So ye like?" Rahne asked in a huff, noting how wide eyed Cyan was.

"It is far more...wet than I am used to. Not to mention cold." Cyan shivered a little in the poorly stitched together rags she was wearing.

Rahne sighed as she looked over the first competition she ever really had for love, and for all the jealousy she felt for the werecat, the teenage mutant could not just let her shiver in the cold in a mess of haphazardly stitched loincloths that passed as a garment. True it covered all of Cyan's body, but no one could call what she was wearing "cold weather gear".

"Aye. Come inside, I'll let ye borrow some of my warmer cloths." Rahne said as she guided the golden furred lycan indoors and out of the wet air.

Moira, meanwhile, was busy helping Ranokami and Sean lock the aircraft into place in it's hanger. The unpredictable nature of the island's weather made it essential that the only reliable way to the mainland be safely put in place as soon as possible.

Moira wasn't saying much while she chalked the plane and locked the door of the hanger.

Caught in her own thoughts as to taking in the desperate Cyan and her own daughter's already developing attraction to Ranokami. Being unable to give Rahne a "normal" developmental environment meant that there was always a possibility that Moira's daughter would form an attachment to the first guy her age that was nice to her.

This was something that Moira always worried about, but what no one could have possibly have thought that Rahne's first crush would instantly have attracted the attention of someone who was in just an alien world as Rahne. At present the adoptive mother was forced to keep herself in thought as to what exactly was going on here.

Ranokami was similarly silent, but not because he was thinking heavily. Such things he usually left for others to do as thinking too much on something generally just gave him a headache. No the son of Logan was quiet because he was listening to Banshee describe exactly what the post-flight procedures were and how to make sure that the plane could be ready for take off again. The way that the young male figured it, this was a lot easier to deal with than trying to think of what exactly was going on between him, Rahne, and Cyan, and/or how the mess started. Not bad for someone who would get headaches trying to do very complex math.

Speaking of the young ladies, we find that Rahne was tossing her various garments onto the bed to find something that would fit the smaller catgirl. Sweaters, jackets, pants, workout cloths, even undergarments were all thrown onto the wolf-girl's bed to find something that could fit Cyan's frame.

"No darn it, still too big." Rahne said as she held up a pair of pants which would never fit the cheetah girl. "At this rate we should just go for something too big and deal with it."

The werecheetah was saddened by this, not for the fact nothing that Rahne could find fit, but rather that her new friend was trying so hard and nothing seemingly was coming from it.

"I'm sorry that I am causing you such trouble." Cyan said with her ears turned down and her face and her eyes focused on her feet.

"Aye aren't, just trying to fin' ye something to wear is going to be a pain." Rahne said as she finally got some sweat cloths for her friend to wear. "Here, this should fit ye well enough."

Cyan looked the strange garment over once or twice and then simply put in on over her lone cloth garbs; the cloak she had been in was placed on the floor after being folded.

"Don'a worry. I'll just take that to the laundry with the rest of it." Rahne said as she quickly tossed essentially what was a rag into the dirty linens.

"I really don't know how to thank you for your kindness." Cyan smiled wholeheartedly.

It was an innocent smile that seemed to really call out to Rahne. That perhaps if there wasn't the pang of jealousy for the attention of a certain mutant then this werecat and her would be good friends. Rahne just sighed and figured she'd work that out when she got to it.

"Ye don't have t'a do athin' Cyan." Rahne smiled back. "It's okay."

Pondering for a second or two, the teenage mutant was wondering exactly what to make of her new associate. For starters she had never heard of a werecheetah, or really any time of werecat, before. And while commonly mistaken for a werewolf, Rahne had never been in contact with any sort of magical being or creature before.

"So ye min answering a we question of mine?" Rahne asked with a very curious look on her face.

"Well I suppose I wouldn't mind. What would you like to know?" Cyan's expression was the most catty, inquisitive one that Rahne had seen on a humanoid's face. This was in of itself not surprising, but her green eyes and marking were so haunting that Rahne was taken back for a second.

"Well ye say that ye are a werecheetah, but what exactly does that mean?"

Cyan blinked a couple of minutes as she thought just what she was asked.

"Well I'm not sure exactly how to answer that question Rahne." the blond haired catgirl answered as she tapped the side of her mouth. "Well I am a lycan, which probably means little to you so I will go into detail...have you heard about werewolves and that they change in full moonlight?"

"Aye, I have." the other teenage girl said as she sat down on her bed, making a small free spot from all her cloths.

"Well that is only a small part of lycanthropy." Cyan said. "But the truth is that lycans, true lycans, are born with their abilities that are passed down from the mother and we can change at any time of the month into any one of three forms depending on how much moonlight that we have been exposed to." Cyan continued.

"You have already seen my human and my hybrid forms back at the pub." Cyan took a moment to let Rahne catch up.

"I did, and they look very familiar to that of my shape shifting forms." Rahne observed, and really at this point not feeling as impressed as she was before with meeting a magical being.

"Well I have three forms and the last of which is a straight animal form." Cyan exclaimed as she turned to see a lith wolf calmly sitting at her feet with what looked like a smug expression on her face.

"Are you sure that you aren't a werewolf?" Cyan smirked as she looked at the wolfgirl just smile as she changed from pure wolf to a hybrid form.

"Nay, I'm a mutant. But so far what be the difference?" Rahne said as she sat down and looked at her equally fuzzy friend.

"So you heal super-humanly fast, change form, and are animal-like...." Cyan pondered and pondered, till she started listing. "Can you survive anything outside of silver, magic, or another 'mutant' attacking you?"

"Sorry but what do ye mean?" Rahne asked, quite uncertain as to the point of the question.

"Lycans have only three weaknesses." Cyan continued. "We can be harmed by magic, another lycan, or worse of all...silver." as the werecheetah said the last word her whole body shivered.

Rahne blinked at this and placed her hand on Cyan shoulder.

"Is something wrong my friend?" Rahne asked as she sat next to Cyan and tried to look at her now terrified friend's face.

"I will be." Cyan shivered again. "Sorry I am acting like a scared little kitten, not as a warrior with standing in my clan should." It took a little while for the werecat to recover from his as she took a deep breath and looked her new friend right in the face, trying desperately to hold her compossure.

"Rahne you've heard that silver can harm werewolves right?" Cyan said as she recovered.

"Ey. I have heard the myth about silver bullets and such. So?" Rahne asked.

"It is not just silver bullets my friend. Silver anything will harm a lycan." The feeling of absolute terror in Cyan's voice was shocking. "The mere touch of it is like putting that part of your body in hell fire itself."

The smaller girl just shivered at that and Rahne just wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that I didn't upset ye or nothing."

"Oh no you didn't." Cyan weakly smiled back. "Just I don't ever wana feel something that bad again. I touched it once and..." The catgirls reply was a series of full body shivers.

"Nah even if ye were given birth?" Rahne asked, figureing that she may yet have a shot with Wild Wolf if he wanted a family and Cyan didn't.

"Oh that's not an issue. Unlike most other beings such as humans, and I guess mutants, lycans do not suffer labor pains." Rahne blinked at this and nearly fell over.

"Wha?"

"Oh yes lycanthorpes don't suffer pain during labor or child birth." Cyan said as she regained her smile. "I have helped several women in my tribe give birth and not one of them was in any pain during it."

Rahne expression was completely blank at that.

"I canna believe it. Ye are pulling me leg." Rahne looked incredulously at Cyan.

"I swear I am not joking. But there are a lot of rules that pregnant lycans must follow to make sure that nothing goes wrong during the pregnancy. Such as no eating after midnights on full moons, no shape shifting, no sleeping under the moonlight, and a whole range of other such things." Cyan continued.

"So are yea a midwife or such? Ye dona seem that old." Rahne asked, completely having forgotten about the clothing issue.

"It is not uncommon where I am from for teenagers to be married and being parents. Most of my clan are married at or about 16-20." Cyan said as she got more comfortable on the bed.

"So is there a guy waiting for you to return home soon?" Rahne wondered seriously, getting a little giggly as she did so.

"Nope, none waiting on me...other than hoping I found food..." Cyan said as she remembered the whole reason she left the camp in the first place. "I'm sorry I completely forgot about all my friends and...."

"Hey, calm down." Rahne said. "Relax, we were shot at and needed to leave. I'm sure that ye clan will understand and we couldn't really stay there if ye was gonna be attacked again could we?"

Cyan relaxed a bit. Yes her life was threatened and she was almost killed earlier, but she couldn't just not tell her friends and family she was alright. She would stay here though for a time and see what supplies she could bring back to the tribe. The werecat had already taken so much of her new friends' hospitality and really had nothing to offer in return so she couldn't ask for much.

"Rahne I want to thank you again for all you and your families benevolence." Cyan smiled. "I don't know how I can repay you for it."

"Don't worry about it Cyan really." Rahne sighed. "You really don't owe us anything for this since we just like to help."

Rahne smiled as she said it, true she barely believed what she was saying to someone who was the biggest potential rival to her first loves heart. But right now this catgirl was in need, and the whole point of all that Rahne's mother, Professor Xavier, and the rest were doing was to show that mutants were just as human as anyone else. If that ment extending it beyond just to humans and other mutants to lycanthrops then so be it.

Cyan's reaction was complete shock to this, as never before, even including the werewolves helping her family with her drought problem, had the werecheetah ever come across such generosity from people who just met her. The spotty blond wanted so much to return these people the generosity she had been shown.

"I think I owe you and your family and apology Rahne." Cyan said as she finally decided on some simple sweat pants and shirt.

"For what?" The teenage pseudo-lycan's mind was at a total loss as to what exactly her new friend, yes friend, was talking about.

"I had heard that humans were horrible people to those that they knew were different from them. That for all our strength, speed, healing, that human weapons could kill us and that we should never let someone see what we really are in case humans carried silver weapons." Cyan said as she shivered a little.

Rahne had to agree with Cyan a little about how people reacted in fear, but that was the whole point of what she was doing here; to take away that fear.

"But you and your family have not once tried to harm me, in fact you ran to my rescue. If you and your family had not been there then I probably would have been killed."

Rahne smiled a bit at that.

"Not to mention meeting a super nice guy in the process." Cyan blushed and Rahne blauched.

"Oh?"

"What? Come on don't you think some handsome guy rushing in to save you isn't extremely romantic?"

Cyan asked as she smiled.

Rahne just blushed, and even through her fur it could be seen.

"I knew it." Cyan smiled. "So is he your boyfriend or is he free?"

Cyan's catty mind was thinking of all the wonderful possibilities of this situation, while she waited for her canine friend's response.

"Well Ei would love to his lasse, but I just met him and I donna know how exactly..."

"Oh so he is single then? That's good as I hope you don't mind me trying for him." Rahne blanched at that embolden statement.

"What are ye daft gowk?" Rahne nearly yelled as she bolted from the bed. "If ye be thinking that yea be taking the only laddy I have had a chance with then ye be more daft than I thought."

Cyan just smiled. "So you do have great feelings for him? I knew it."

Rahne just blauched at that.

"Oh I knew it. All through lunch you looked like something was upsetting you and how you've been acting was if someone had gotten in the way of something you loved and now I know it was me."

"Wait..." Rahne said as she cooled down. "Yea I do feel for him, not sure if it be love yet or nae, but he was the first lad to ever tickle my fancy and since I live here with just my mother and such I canna help it." The wolf girl plopped herself back down.

"Well that does make a lot of sense then, and you have been by far the nicest and most generous of people I have ever met here and you have been one of the best friends I have met since leaving home, even if we have only known each other for a short time...."

"So what do ye think we so do?" Rahne asked her friend.

"Well if we do like him then we give it our best shot and don't hold it against the other who he decides. I've seen more than enough friendships break up because two people fall for the same guy so..."

"Alright we shall agree, but if ye do win that laddy's heart then you owe me to find one as good." Rahne smirked.

"I can't promise you he'll be just as good, but I'll do me best to get you a boyfriend after I win Ranokami's heart." Cyan smiled as she sat up.

"Well that I can agree with....wait a moment." Rahne said as she turned her head in shock. Cyan just smiled in such a catlike coyness that really grated on Rahne's nerves to the point she wanted to bark like crazy.

"Relax my friend it was all in jest." Cyan joked.

"In jest huh? So what ye be thin' the dear love of our lives would think at us acting as such?" Rahne asked.

"Sorry who would do what with who?" A young male's voice said as there was a knock at the open door.

Both of the young ladies went in shock as they saw a slightly confused male standing at the doorway. This shock quickly became embarrassment as Cyan and Rahne had been completely absorbed by their chat that they had forgotten others may be listening.

"Uh oh nera min Ran. It's just.....girly stuff." Rahne said as she was flush red with embarrassment.

"Girly stuff?" Ranokami was honestly at a loss as to think what that could be.

"Yes. Sorry but it's not something guys would understand so why don't you and I leave while Cyan changes into something warmer." Rahne said as she led the son of Logan out of her room.

"Uh sure. See you later Cyan." Ranokami said as he was now very confused and blinking as a certain psuedolycan was pushing him down the hall.

Back in the bedroom we see that Cyan was smiling. Genuinely happy that she was able to get into some better clothing and new friends that were so wonderful to her.

Stripping out of her haphazard loincloth garments and putting on the soft cotton cloth of the sweatsuit made Cyan finally feel warm again. Indulging herself in try cat mannerism, the werecheetah hugged herself all over. The garment was the most comfortable one she had ever known, and she thought she looked so cute covered in bright pink. Her short yellow fur was a little staticy, and she had to keep the elastic band tight on the leggings as her tail had to fit over in the back, but she was so happy that she couldn't be bothered with that.

Cyan danced around a little in her new clothing getting a feel of how her borrowed cloths moved with her, and just because she was in a very happy mood. So enraptured was she at this that she hadn't noticed just how extra fuzzy she was getting from running her feet over the carpet in the sweats. Her tail was so poofy that it would be mistaken for a feather boa.

The spotty female was absolutely giddy as she went to the now closed door to find the guy she was so in love in and see how he liked her clothing. With closed eyes, Cyan opened the door with it's wooden handle and continued, while barefoot, down the hall to where she could smell the best guy she ever met was.

Ranokami was talking with Rahne in the TV room as he and Rahne were waiting for dinner to be served. Rahne was anxiously moving her hands in a washing fashion with a very nervous look on her face.

"So Ranokami, what are ye thinking of Cyan?" Rahne asked, completely having abandoned any attempts at suddlety.

Ranokami was caught off guard by this statement to say the least. An actual assessment of his mental state would be like if any Ranma was asked the same question: he put his foot in his mouth.

"Well," the teenage mutant thought as best he could, which one must give him credit for, "I think she is a very nice girl."

"Just very nice?" Rahne probed.

"Well she has a very nice smile, genuinely has a happy dispossession and is very friendly....also I do have to admit she is cute no matter what form she is in and her coat is very beautiful." At this point Ranokami's honestly was getting him in very hot water with the female closer to him physically.

Thankfully Rahne had far better control of her emotions than other women in the multiverse and instead of yelling at her friend, her only real friend she had on the island, she calmly listened and hoped that the boy she was going nuts over was saying those complements solely because he was a genuinely nice guy and complementing Cyan as such.

"Ae I can agree to that." Rahne said as she collected herself. "But do ye think she be better looking that I?" This is a question every guy with a girl interested in him will be asked, it is a question that every guy with a girl will be asked, it is a question that every guy with a girl who thinks that said guy is her's will ask, and brother there is not real right answer to this one.

Ranokami, like all guys asked this, suffered from a stalled brain and was for a loss of words. Mainly due to the fact that this question had never been something he had ever come close to encountering and was at a total loss as to why he would even have been asked this question in the first place.

"Uh..." As the pilot was attempting to pull the central cortex of Ranokami's brain out of a flat spin, our favorite mutant had developed a thousand yard stare...with was odd as the room was only about 4 yards long.

"Well it's a simple question isn't it?" Rahne prodded her pal again.

"Well she is very pretty, but then again so are you." Ranokami tried to use diplomacy to evade the topic, but that sadly never really works, but it comes close.

"Really?" Rahne's smile perked up.

"Well yea you have a very friendly smile and striking red hair." Ranokami continued. "And you are one of the hardest working people I know..." At this point the young man was treading water metaphorically speaking. Trying to stay above drowning in one of the more dangerous "seas" known.

"Well, who's kisses do you prefer?" A third voice interjected into the conversation. Yep Cyan was leaning over her friends and smiling.

The oddball comment had caused Rahne to jump about a foot into the air and Ranokami to nearly fall off the couch.

"What are ye trying to do ye fool?" Rahne nearly yelled. The wolfy mutant was very irate to say the least as she looked upon her friend with extreme aggression. Wasn't sure if it was the statement or the fact she had been spooked so much she nearly jumped out of her skin but either way Rahne was really irked.

"What we all know what you you two were talking about." Cyan smiled. "Besides Rahne you know I was only joking."

Rahne shook her head. Yea Cyan was probably joking and the Scotish lass had to agree it was a good joke.

"Well Ranokami which one do you prefer to kiss?" Rahne asked as she sat back up.

Now things were just plan unfair for the male mutant. As his brain was reeling from the magnitude of the situation and boy was that a huge change. Lets face it, he's a kid really, never been the center of attention for two girls that are aggressively seeking to know which one of the two he preferred. So how exactly did our hero react? Simple he stared blankly at the women near him as his brain finally crashed and the pilot bailed.

"What is it Ranokami?" Cyan asked as she looked her new love interest in the face.

Waving her hand in front of his eyes gained no response nor did yelling.

"Well that's great. I think ye broke him." Rahne growled as she shook Ranokami's shoulders to try and get him back into reality.

"I didn't mean to." Cyan almost cried.

"Well how do ye think we fix...I mean get him back to reality." Rahne asked out loud and to no one in particular and while scratching the back of her head.

"Well we could tell your mother and see if she has any ideas?" The blond, and still very puffy werecat suggested.

"Nay. She's busy with somethin' very important at this time so I dona think that'd be a good idea." Rahne thought hard for a moment. "Well we could try and see who's kiss he be liking more?"

Truth was that was sort of a half-assed suggestion and Rahne wasn't really serious about it. Though after she said it, she had to admit that it was very very romantic.

"Well?" Cyan asked, looking at her friend as if expecting the other shoe to drop.

"Well what?" Rahne replied.

"It was your idea. Why don't you..." Cyan offered.

Rahne smiled and threw all caution to the wind. Yep Rahne Sinclair latched onto Ranokami's mouth and tried her darnest to bring him back to the world of the living. After nearly running out of breath, but loving every moment of it, Rahne let go and smiled with closed eyes hoping it worked.

"Uh..." Cyan said hesitantly, seeing as how her canid buddy was now on cloud nine with a mile-long grin and looked like she was about to start dancing around the room.

In such a daze Rahne was lucky to fall on her back onto the couch, even if she was a little (pardon the expression) loopy.

Cyan just watched in anticipation. As she had seen that although Ranokami now was smiling, he was still very much unconscious and out of it.

"My turn." Cyan smiled as she moved to where the teenage male was laying comatose and planted a big on right on his lips. The result was instantaneous and mind-blowing. All the static electricity stored in Cyan's fur was finally released in a bright blue burst of energy that jolted both Cyan and Ranokami back.

It took a few moments for Ranokami to wake up and begin to understand what had just happened. This was only his physical healing as his mind was still trying to bring all systems online. This was the main reason that this particular thought ran through his mind:

"Wow that was some kiss."

Cyan's response was far simpler. She had fallen onto the couch and was flopped over with the same goofy smile on her face. With her coat no longer fluffy from all the static, Cyan had a far more saren look to her.

"Oh yea, that was good...." Cyan and Rahne thought simultaneously as they went limp and sort of became one with the furniture.

To be continued.

Author's notes:

I know it's been forever since I posted and update to this story but I have been very busy (even if I seem to have a lot of free time now). I'm had to deal with moving back to the south, surgery, trying to find a job, taking classes, and a lot of other minor things which had shot my creative writing skills. Also sorry for all those looking for a lot of action but this was sort of a romantic in reference to Valentine's Day. Don't worry I'll skip my next round of rotations next time and my next update will be again for this story to make up for it. Thanks for everyone's patients and I will try to get back into writing soon.

Sincerely,

Agent Reptile


	14. Chapter 14

Through the Years Chapter 14

By Agent Reptile

Ranma 1/2 and all various in sundry characters found within belongs to Viz comics/video and Rumiko Takahashi (not mine). Wolverine, X-Men, and any other Marvel characters which come along belong to (duh) Marvel comics (not mine). Tenchi Muyo and all various characters I pull from them belong to AIC and Pioneer (not mine). Gold Diggers belongs to Antarctic Press and Fred Perry (not mine). G. belongs to Hasbro (also not mine). Darkstalkers belongs to Viz comics and Capcom (you see a pattern here?). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios (again not mine). Ranokami (my character so ask if you want to use). As said in previous version Logan has been an X-man years before the others. Any other connection between X-Men: Evolution and this fic ends at that line as this is like the comics or the other X-Men cartoon from the 90's.

"English"

"Chinese"

"_Sign language_"

"_Japanese_"

"**Telepathy**"

Xan Pu was not her usual self at this moment. Usually the purple hair amazon had a chipper attitude as she took her daily walk, but this day and so many before had not shown that side of the young woman. Xan was making her way down the grounds of the Xavier Institute with a heavy heart and at a loss at what to do. Cologne had sent word that she was going to be arriving soon to ascertain why Xan Pu had not started looking for the male who had defeated her in honored combat to wed him. It was not an easy thing to figure out for Xan believed wholeheartedly in the practices and ways of her tribe, but the idea of being married to someone so...evil sickened her so much that she could not bear to imagine it.

Xan sighed as she sat down and gazed over the home of Charles Xavier and his team of mutants. She loved her time here in New York, but there was no amount of love of her family which could change how sick she felt and horrified at facing Saki again. To try and feel better the Amazon warrior made friends with Jean and Lorna and tried to get a sense of how American women acted and displayed themselves. The differences were quite significant as she noted that, although Jean and Lorna were strong and extremely capable women, they still seemed to submit more to the affections of their significant other.

Xan didn't think that there was anything wrong with Jean's choice of boyfriend as Scott was a natural leader, brilliant strategist, and very attractive. But Xan had grown up where women were the instigators of affection and showed males their interest rather than the men showing theirs. It was a seemingly minor but truly fundamental difference that underlined the biggest distinction between her Amazon ways and the ways of most of the outside world. Even her aunt Nodoka seemed this way, but when one's male is uncle Logan even the greatest of Amazons would feel some level of submission.

But in all these relationships there was trust and devotion between partners, but with Xan Pu there was a...disgusting feeling inside her in submitting to a male. Having never had to do such, and being a proud Amazon, it was a new and very different concept to her, but that wasn't why it made her so sick. For all her Amazon training, for all her skill, for all that she had grown up with, it didn't amount to a hill of beans when Oroku Saki, or the Shredder as he was calling himself, nearly had killed her. For someone who had never bee in such a position before, that scared her nearly to death.

"Hey Xan what's up?" Ukyo asked her cousin as the brunette sat down on cut grass of Xavier's beautiful yard.

"Oh hello Ukyo...I okay." Xan said as she sighed and again put her head in her hands. The Amazon's broken English can be excused as she wasn't that familiar with the language as she was with Japanese.

"Something tells me that's not quite right sugar. Now come on and tell me what's bothering you." The adopted child of the Logan clan said as she looked at her cousin with great concern. Ever since that rescue mission against Cobra the purple haired amazon had seemed distant and depressed. Now granted nearly getting killed would do that to anyone, but there was just something about this...funk that screamed there was more to it than what was on the surface.

"Ukyo I no know how to...You know Amazons have very traditional laws right?" Having enough with not being able to say what needed to be said in English, Xan switched to her native tongue.

"Well yea, it is why we are cousins right?" Ukyo shrugged. "Because Logan saved your life and thus was welcomed into the tribe along with his family."

"That is very true Ukyo, but that is only one of many laws and regulations that serve as the rules all Amazons must live by." Xan thought for a second as she tried to figure out how exactly to describe what was going on. "Ukyo, how do you think most Amazon's choose their husbands?"

The brunette blinked a few times as she pondered the question. After a moment or so she placed her finger to her chin and replied "I figured it's the same way as the rest of the world where if a couple loves eachother they devoted their lives to oneanother, but something tell me that isn't the case here."

Xan nodded as she looked very defeated. "It is the law of the Amazons that if we are defeated by an outsider female in combat then we must track her down and kill her post haste."

Ukyo blinked for a few seconds as she wondered what that tidbit of information had to do with anything. "Okay so what does that have to do with how you find husbands? Did you fall in love with a pair of Siamese twins that one was a guy and the other a girl and the girl defeated you?"

The purple haired beauty was taken back by this statement and thought for a moment just what the rules would be for something like that. It would be a very interesting conundrum to say the least. But that hypothetical can wait till sometime later as Xan decided that it was more important that she explain the real situation to her cousin.

"No Ukyo, that's not the problem." Xan said as she pulled her legs to her chest. "In the ancient law of the Amazons, if an amazon is defeated by an outsider female then she must give the "kiss of death" and kill her, but if the outsider is male then the Amazon must give them the 'kiss of marriage' and marry them without delay."

"WHAT?" Ukyo nearly yelled. "What kind of system is that?"

"Our village is very isolated and with the fact we are so distant we could possibly become too related to one-another. If there is a strong male who can defeat one of our warriors then to survive we must add their blood to our own." Xan Pu then shivered.

Ukyo picked up on this immediately and gave Xan a hug. "Look sugar I'm sure that whatever happened when we save Ranchan's life that it doesn't count as those thugs aren't people that you want in your clan."

"While I agree with that cousin, I was defeated in honored combat in which I am honor bound to marry and breed with the one who proved to be my better." Xan shivered even more at knowing what she must do to insure the continuation of her clan, even though it would be with one who almost killed her with no regard to her life.

"Look sugar I'm sure that if you explain the situation that Cologne will understand that whoever defeated you isn't someone who you want in the tribe. I mean how would it be if you were to say that the one you are honor bound to marry is an international terrorist who was responsible for abducting one of the clan?" Ukyo rattled off this idea as she was trying to help her family member have some hope that perhaps there would be no forced wedding.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but sadly I am compelled to give the kiss of marriage to the one I formally challenged in one on one combat, although he is the one who is responsible for Ranokami being abducted in the first place." Xan was about to cry as she was feeling a mix of disgust and great anger.

"Wait what now?" Ukyo said in shock.

"The one whom I am to give the kiss, the one who I must marry according to Amazon custom, calls himself the Shredder."

This caused Ukyo to almost visibly fall back as she heard that name. What kind of nutjob calls himself "The Shredder"? It sounds like a piece of office equipment, or a kitchen utensil. "What kind of crazy name is that?" The brunette's questioning was made to make Xan tense.

"It is the name of the warrior, no the monster who defeated me." Xan said, "But Ranokami yelled out his real name before fighting him to save my life. I think he said his name was Sok...Sooke...Sosrki... "

Xan did try hard to remember exactly what her cousin had yelled out, but for the life of her she couldn't quite enunciate what that guy's name was.

"Xan, could it have been Saki?" Ukyo blinked several times as Xan nodded at this. The young brunette's mind was spinning at the possibility that her fellow student of Hamato Yoshi was responsible for attacking her home and her family. Yes some of the ninja were of the Foot clan, but could it really have been Saki that sent them upon the Xavier Institute and handed over her brother to Cobra Commander. Yea the guy had a chip on his shoulder but he wouldn't...

"AIHYA that's it!" Xan Pu nearly yelled. The purple haired amazon was happy to finally be able to know the true name of the man who killed her. Hopefully she would either never hear it again or kill him before she would be forced to marry him. But fate had different plans.

While Professor Xavier was driven to help any and all that he can, there was a limit on what he could do. With all of his mental powers and experience in the psychological healing of troubled people, he had no idea what to do to help this particular young lady. Yes he could very well invade her mind, find exactly what was wrong, and then try his best, but that would violate Xan's privacy as well as his own strict morals on the issue.

While pondering what exactly to do to help this particular young lady, the telepath felt a new mental frequency approaching his just recently rebuilt home. Having just had to deal with the combined forces of Cobra and the Foot, Professor Xavier was in no mood to be attached again. Erring on the side of caution, he signaled for some backup.

"**Scott, Jean, Logan we may have guests soon so please meet me at the front gate."**Professor Xavier mentally sent. While not unusual for there to be guests at the institute, they were usually kind enough to let those at the institute know they were coming.

"**On my way professor.**" Scott immediately got out from under the hood of his car and headed to the elevator leading behind the stairway. Before he got there he found himself flanked by Jean.

"Hey hansom. Ready to have to fight for our home again?" the stunning red head asked her romantic intended.

"And every time after that." the ruby shaded mutant's lenses flashed for a moment before the doors closed.

Logan had been occupied as well, but he had been busy dealing with something more important than his vehicle: his wife. Nodoka was still very upset at her son being far from home and her own experiences at the Himalayan Cobra base.

"Darlin' I'll be right back." Logan said as he kissed his wife. "Chuck wants to see who it is that's at the door."

"Of course." Nodoka weakly smiled.

As the four mutants finally converged at the front door. A solid rapping was heard as their unknown "guest" made themselves known.

Nodding to Scott, Professor Xavier signaled his student to open the door and see who it was that was on the other side. As the door opened there were four individuals standing at the door. Three females and one male were garbed in ornate clothing of flowing silk with various colors and patterns. The oldest, or apparently eldest, of the group was a aged woman with diminutive stature and long white hair. She was in genuine surprise as she pulled her long cane back to herself as she seemed to have been just about to knock at the door.

"Hello, welcome to the Xavier institute. How may I help you all today?" Professor Xavier politely commented while sharing a friendly smile.

"Um yes thank you..." The woman said as she wasn't expecting to have the door opened before she could knock. "I am Elder Cologne of the Joketsuzoku and these are my bodyguards and fellow tribe members Mut Tsu, Conditioner, and Erbal Esstants."

As the elder introduced each member of her tribe, they bowed politely.

"And we are here because my great-granddaughter has informed me that she was recovering here at your home and that there were personal matters she had to deal with. I apologize if our appearance was unexpected, but I did give word that I was coming in a letter to my great-granddaughter Xan Pu."

"Yes, well I shall guess that either the letter never made it, but I am glad you are here Elder Colgne as I am very worried about Xan Pu's current situation. I am professor Charles Xavier and this is my home. Please come in." Professor Xavier politely ushered in his guests.

"I hope you don't mind our current lack of a welcoming party or such, but we've had a recent bit of trouble here that we have yet to rebuild completely from." The professor was putting things mildly as there were still massive holes in the structure and make-shift emergency engineered holding bars where contractors and builders were going to be replacing and repairing the vast home.

"It is quite alright Professor Xavier, we are honored that you welcomed us at all. Logan has told us much about his family here and you have my word we all shall treat this home with the same level of care as if it was our own."

"And Logan has mentioned you and your tribe a few times as well Elder Cologne. Would you mind if we talk in private? I have some things to mention with you about your great-granddaughter that I rather not say in public."

"Very well." It was thankful that Mut Tsu's grasp of the English language was non-existant as if he had heard that his intended love interest was in trouble he would have ran to her (or any female he noticed due to his poor vision) and hugged her in a death grip.

"Conditioner." Cologne spoke. "I will be talking with Professor Xavier alone for a bit about my great-granddaughter. You are in charge till I get back and none of you are to cause problems while I am gone. Is that clear?" The Amazons nodded in understanding, but figured that Mouse would mess up one way or another soon enough.

"Logan since our guests are by extension part of your family, perhaps you could show them around the grounds and such while I talk with Cologne. Jean, Scott why don't you join them?" Professor Xavier said as he rolled his wheelchair into his office with Cologne closing the door behind.

"So how have you been Logan?" Conditioner asked in perfect English, which caught Jean and Scott by surprise, but not much of one. "I take it you two thought I only spoke Chinese?"

"No, but I guess since Shampoo being around for a while I did expect you to have a slightly broken tone to your speech, but..." Scott continued.

"Quite understandable, but no we all have a fluent understanding of English...with the exception of Mut Tsu here." The elder pointed to the male dressed in white wearing sleeves far too large for his frame. Logan just stared at him and sneered.

The male member of the Amazons was oblivious to this as he was solely focused on his dear "Shampoo". His huge glasses were completely blurry as the obsessive male fumed and brooded. Thoughts of violence filled his mind as Mouse as he was thinking of what he would do against the one who hurt "his" beloved.

As the tremendous amount of negative thoughts, feelings, and images poured through the psychic plain, Jean couldn't help but sense these feelings, and was eventually unable to block them out or show a lack of sensation to them.

"Excuse me but your friend seems to be a little...tense. Are you sure he's alright?" The red haired telepath asked as the group prepared to show the facility to their guests.

The other elder just sighed. "I must apologize for our associate's less than proper manners here. He is...very attached to Shampoo and..."

"Shampoo where? Where is my beloved Shampoo? What has happened to her?" the almost blind idiot started to cry out as he turned his head from side to side and tried to find the woman who he was fixated on. Due to his horrible vision, and equally blinding obsession, he was about to get in even hotter water than he was in now.

You see dear reader, Mu Tsu had forgotten to put on his glasses and when he noticed a certain shapely woman with long hair...or what looked like such as he really only saw a blotchy blur. In his extremely emotional situation and very weak mental situation, the idiot lunged out at the movement of long hair on the head of a certain female who really doesn't look at all like Xan Pu. Of course the woman he lunched at didn't look at all like Xan Pu as Jean found herself being lunged at.

"Shampoo oh how I missed you my love..." the white robed fool was about to wrap his arms around Jean, but found himself unable to get close to her.

Just as fast as the blind fool jumped up at her, Jean tossed the pain away telekentictally while Cyclops's hand was right at the trigger mechanism for this visor. Wolverine just grumbled to himself about blind fools.

"Alright what was that all about?" Cyclops asked as he looked sternly at the other Amazons, both of whom looked at wonder at the redheaded woman who just tossed their associate away.

"I must apologize Mr. Summers." Erbal Essants said as she bowed her head. "If it had been up to the rest of us this one would not have joined us here, as he is all too obsessed with Shampoo."

"I've been wonderin' that since you walked in." Logan sneered. "Since that girl does not need him around at all."

"May I ask why he lunged at me then?" Jean asked as she didn't understand the connection.

"It is because Mouse's vision is so poor that he must wear very large glasses, but he is very sensitive about how he looks while wearing them so he rarely does." The elder said while tensing greatly. "I must formally apologize for our young lad's irresponsible behavior and actions. It is unbefitting of someone of our tribe to act as such, especially as we are guests at your home."

Both of the elders bowed to their hosts at this. "I hope you will forgive us as he is the grandson of an Elder who does have pull in the tribe."

"Look, I think that we can overlook Mouse's...eccentrics, but he has to behave himself. Especially when it comes to Shampoo." Scott said as pinched the bridge of nose.

"She saved my boy's life, and she is as close as blood as far as I'm concerned." Logan said. "If you can't control this punk I will, and he won't like it one bit."

No one could call any of these Amazons cowards, but you also couldn't call them fools. There was a reason that Logan was given the respect he was by the tribe, and none (not even Cologne) dared to challenge him when he was protecting ones he loved. Which is why all of the tribe made it imperative not to be a threat to anyone that the Canadian loved.

Speaking of the elder of the tribe from China. The ancient and esteemed Amazon was sitting comfortably in the antique chair that looked as if it was out of a Charles Dickon's novel.

"Professor Xavier, it has come to my attention that when my great-granddaughter joined in the rescue of Logan's son she was challenged and defeated by one of the numerous adversaries in the mountain stronghold." The tone of the tricentennial matriarch was even, flat, and very matter-of-factly. That being said, it was obviously not telling the whole story as a mere defeat would not cause this level of concern.

"From what I have been able to gather from those that were there, Xan Pu fought valiantly and was instrumental in the rescue of my student. For that I am extremely grateful." Xavier said as he tried to gain some response from the elder.

"And I would expect nothing less from my heir." Cologne smiled. "For what your friend Logan has been able to do for our tribe I would consider it nothing less than expected for my heir to be first on the list to volunteer to save his son."

"Indeed." Professor Xavier replied, "But after she returned, young Xan was...more distant...lost if you will."

"Oh?" Cologne asked, finding this very interesting.

"I have tried to talk with her about it, try and help her with what happened...but I have been unable to help her come to grips with what she has experienced. In fact, I have no idea what exactly did happen to her as the only other individual who was there is now being treated at a special hospital off the coast of Ireland by a colleague of mine." Professor Xavier explained to his guest as

"I am aware that those who have drawn blood for the first time need...counseling. I only hope that I can help. But there is another, more pressing matter, for the welfare of my great-granddaughter." Cologne said as she tapped the floor with her long cane.

"And that would be?" Xavier was very curious as to what possibly would be more important to this woman than her relative's safety.

"It has come to my attention that she was formally challenged to a fight of honor with another warrior and was defeated." The amazon elder said as she drummed on her wooden assist. "And yet she has remained here, to...recover from her ordeal rather than go after the man who beat her in combat."

"Elder I must respectfully ask what possibility going after one particular individual who defeated her in combat would be more important than her mental health?" The esteemed professor's compassion and devotion to others made it hard for him to grasp why Xan's relative wouldn't be focused on the girl's health.

"I am not trying to seem callous Professor Xavier, but it is a matter of honor that Xan Pu track down the male which defeated her without any further delay, she has lost much time as it is." The Amazon elder said, indicating that she was adamant on this.

"Lost time elder?" Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow at this. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"You were not told?" Cologne asked with a sense of bewilderment that the story had not been explained to the head of this household.

"Sadly no. I have been trying for what seems like forever to get the young girl to open up to me, and since I felt that the use of my powers against her will would be invasive, I have been unable to get to the root of the problem."

Cologne thought about this for a second. "What powers do you process that would be of aid to by great-granddaughter?"

The professor smiled as his reply came. "**That would be this Elder Cologne.**" His words were not spoken, but instead went directly to the elder's mind.

"A telepath..."

"Indeed." Professor Xavier smiled. "You see Cologne, I was a young lad when I found out that I was able to read people's minds, and even force my will onto them."

"Then all this..." The amazon was prepaired to defend herself immediately form this new for.

"No no...I discovered I could, but when I did I decided to use my powers to help people. This is why I have been unable to properly treat Xan Pu."

"Ah. You can not bring yourself to enter another person's mind to force the knowledge from them." Cologne relaxed a bit.

"Indeed. I find it is a gross violation of their rights. I have done so, but only when treating those who have been so psychologically hurt that normal means of treatment are impossible. I did not wish to violate her trust in me, but was going to ask if I could enter her mind to understand what was troubling her so tomorrow as I have exhausted all other possibilities." Xavier explained.

"I do not believe that such an intrusion into my heir's mind will be necessary." Cologne sighed. "The reason for her current state is explained in a letter she sent to me asking for the details of our sacred Amazon laws."

"And what law would that be honored Elder?"

"It has to do with an Amazon being beaten in formal combat, and the one who beat her is male, then she must give him the kiss of marriage and wed him without delay." Cologne said as she produced a small leather bound tomb.

Xavier took this with a bit of concern, well more than a bit, as he tried to think of the right way to reply to learning this.

"I can see that this troubles you some." Cologne sighed. "You may think of us as barbarians, savages

even for not having a more 'enlightened' or 'romantic' sense to marriage, but I promise you that this is not an arbitrary or is it meant as a way to force our daughters into relationships they can't stand."

"Very well, but may I ask why it is still practiced? What reason, if I may ask to understand it better, does it serve then?"

"Since you deal with genetic variations on a daily basis, I trust that you are fully aware of the nature of bloodlines and such." The Elder asked.

"Yes indeed I understand genetics very well, but you probably knew that as I have a school full of mutants and regularly make speeches on how such differences wouldn't take away from one's shared humanity." Xavier answered, wondering what it was all leading too.

"And you are then aware of the dangers of a limited genetic pool and isolated community, that with continuing generations the probability of dangerous genetic deformities and the horrors that can occur from inbreeding." Cologne pointed out. Xavier nodded, beginning to understand what this was all about.

"Then Professor, you can understand what would happen with a small group of repetitively closely related people trying to sustain a civilization. It would be quite impossible for generation after generation to survive without some level of inherited problems appearing."

Cologne proudly lifted her head as she continued to explain the reasoning behind her people's ways. "We of the Joketsuzoku have had to deal with geographical isolation sense the earliest of our recorded history and have known what would happen if we acted as other cultures we encountered, and the recent history of the monarchs of Europe have shown the true hazards of inbreeding can be."

"And to prevent it, your people have a tradition of adding more genetic material to your tribe when a particular male proved himself stronger than one of their warriors. I can understand the reasoning, on a purely biologic level, but I don't believe that Xan is in any condition to marry anyone." The Professor was polite, but very stern as he looked Cologne in the eye. "The young lady has closed off more attempts to get close to her, and while she has been a very wonderful guest, she is tormented by what happened to her so I don't believe that leaving to follow someone who may have tried to kill her is in her best interest."

"I hate to be rude to my host, but this is one of the more fundamental laws of my tribe and something which my heir has held close to her heart since she could read. I will not allow interference in upholding the laws that have sustained my people for millennial."

"Cologne...Xan is your heir, but she is also my patient. That young girl was nearly killed saving one of those I consider my own children, and I can not and will not allow her to be forced into something that will ruin her as a woman, or as a person. She needs to come to grips with what happened and make peace with it before I can allow her to leave my care." Cologne was impressed with Professor Xavier for this. While she had heard of the man spoken of with great respect from those that new him, she did not grasp the full measure of this man's depth or breadth of character till now.

The Elder smiled as she looked on one who many would see as frail or weak having to live his life in a wheelchair, but there was a strength in him and a level of concern and compassion that caused the old elder to reevaluate the man who formed these so called "X-Men".

"Then we both shall have to talk with Xan Pu about this, and hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is hurting the child so."

"I agree wholeheartedly Elder, please let us see her immediately as I fear we have wasted much time towards healing her." Xavier pointed the way towards the door and Cologne and he left his office.

A short time later Xan Pu was sitting in one of the many rooms of the institute with her great-grandmother and Professor Xavier.

"My child, I understand that something happened to you in the Himalayans, and you have been spending much of your time here rather than taking care of this."

"Yes great-grandmother, but I..."

"Please young one." Cologne stopped her. "This was your first time as a blooded warrior, and from all that I have heard you gave great honor to your title as a member of our tribe."

"Thank you great-grandmother." Xan replied. "It was honor to help."

"Very true, but something happened back there, something that has been bothering you greatly. So greatly in fact that I traveled all the way from China to see you about it." Cologne was direct and to the point on this.

"Xan is sorry to have trouble your great-grandmother...I just..." Xan said, almost ready to fight.

"It is no trouble at all. You are family and no price is too great for family." Cologne smiled, trying to get her heir to relax and not lock up. "Now please tell me what happened, about this male who defeated you."

"So that's what this is all about." Logan said, as his inhuman hearing caught some of what was said though the doorway and into another room.

"Xan wish she could Elder...really do...but I just..." Xan broke down into tears. "Xan knows what happen...Xan fight well...but Xan no beat...no beat..."

"Xan, please control yourself." Cologne said as she held Xan's shoulder. "I know you were defeated, but even the greatest of us are sometimes forced to admit that."

"No, no, no...You no...Xan not saying it right...he beat me, but he no man...is man but more..." tears began to flow out of her eyes which were becoming bright red.

"More what child?" Xavier now asked.

"Monster..." Xan Pu wept as she tried to remember all the details of what happened, but couldn't get past the image of a man in a metal mask.

"Xan Pu, if you please allow me, I want to try something to help us understand." Xavier smiled. "You know how your Uncle Logan's powers, and have seen the gifts of Scott, Jean, Bobby, Lorren, and Warren?"

Xan nodded in understanding, trying to stop from crying.

"**I posses a gift too, one I use to help other just like they do, and one I can use to show what happened.**"

"He, you...in Xan Pu's head?" The purple haired Chinese girl couldn't understand what just happened.

"Yes my dear child. Professor Xavier is a telepath, and a very powerful one. If you will allow him to, he can help us reach into your mind and see what happened." Cologne explained. "It may very well be painful, but remember they will be only memories that can't do us any harm."

"I will try, but Xan Pu no want to...that is Xan Pu not wish to be with him...he not..." The young lady tried to explain to her Elder, but was hushed.

"Hush child. Let use see what happened and I will reserve any choice till then." While it was a very sacred law to the tribe, if the male in question was a sociopath then he would definitely not be a good idea to add his blood to the tribe, but that was something that had to be proven.

"Xan, I must have your permission to do this. I will not force you as it is very invasive and I will be delving into your mind's darkest reaches. Will you allow this?" Professor Xavier asked as he rolled his chair close to the girl.

"Xan will allow, but still not sure about this."

"It will be okay Xan, we will face this with you."

It was a very very odd sensation that followed as Xan had never experienced the mental or astral realm. It was if she was there, but then she was not. The act of her main opening up inside of itself was a very trippy experience that was very surreal to her.

"Xan Pu not understand, that not so bad." It was a interesting experience, but not painful at all being inside one's own mind.

"This is only the start of the journey my dear. The real excursion is about to take place in a moment." Xan turned behind her to see Professor Xavier standing behind her with a prescience that she could only describe as grandfatherly. It took her a moment to realize that yes he was standing behind her.

"AH Professor you can walk?" Xan asked in shocked.

"No child this is the metal plain." Cologne answered, as she hopped with her cane.

"And in the mental plain, one's physical limitations do not transition into the mental realm or the astral plain, but one's languages do." Professor Xavier said as his mental projection touched Xan on the shoulder. "Since we think in the same language that we speak."

"Ah, that make sense.

Time is not the same in the mind as it is in the real world, so Xan had no idea how long it was between her going to into the colored pastel and her appearing in a still image of a mountain ravine.

"Ayea, we are actually in the Himalayas?" Xan asked in shock.

"No child, this is your memory of your time there. And it is here that we shall find out what happened." Cologne said as the scene flashed before them.

"Is that...that Xan?" The purple haired amazon asked as the groups saw Xan, Cover Girl, and Beachhead slip inside the Cobra base undetected. "But if this Xan memory, how we see this?"

"While your memories are from your mind, and should be seen from your eyes, when I enter other people's minds I am able to show them outside of their own senses...sort of like watching a recording on a VCR." Xavier said as he, Xan, and Cologne followed the memory through the mountain side and into the Cobra base.

"It would seem that whomever it is that you faced has great resources." Cologne observed as she was amazed at the metal hall ways and various lighting systems that surpassed those of any city she had seen.

"They were great-grandmother." Xan said as she saw herself bash in the head of one of the Cobra sentries. "But still Xan Pu was able to fight them."

"As interesting as this is, is what we are facing close to this time period?" Xavier asked as he didn't want to miss important details.

"It is, but it not very nice." Xan Pu said as she shivered.

Cologne was going to ask her heir just what it was that caused such a reaction, when the trio inside Xan's mind observed a man dressed in a redish purple garment with metal blades on his forearms, shins, and the back of his hands. On the man's head was a very shiny metal helmet and mouth cover that only allowed the eyes to be seen. Cold, sharp, and filled with murderous intent, this figure caused Xan's mindscape to warp and distort so that he was taller, darker, and far more evil appearing.

"Xavier what is going on?" Cologne asked as she noticed the world around her become a far more vial looking place.

"This is Xan Pu's mind Elder, remember that." Xavier said as he became more forceful that before, trying to calm the young Amazon. "Because of this, we do not exactly see what happened, but her impressions of it and her emotions. This means that as her feelings fluctuate, so does this world of her creation."

Professor Xavier was able to guide Xan Pu so that she could focus enough to show the whole story, abet with continued distortions from her fear and worry due to what happened. And what happened was a very pitched and fierce battle between Xan Pu and the Shredder. Cologne knew her granddaughter was strong, but she did not realize just how far her heir could go when pushed. From the moment that Xan accepted the challenge formally as a member of the tribe, Cologne had a new found respect for her sole living relative.

This respect didn't do much for how Xan Pu was feeling as she was almost at the point of a total mental breakdown. Even how proud she felt disabling the Shredder's arm blades with the wooden staff of her maces did little to dissuade the absolute terror that she was feeling as the Shredder was about to deliver the killing blow. As Cologne was about to say enough and make her ruling, she heard a voice cry out from the door away from the two combatants yell out.

"SAKI!"

"Cologne, if we may please?" Xavier asked as he was placing his hands on Xan Pu's shoulders.

"Indeed Charles." the elder said as she sighed. "We have seen more than enough."

"Great-grandmother?" Xan asked as she looked at her loving matriarch. "Can we go back now?"

The purple haired teen's heartfelt request was headed as she found herself back in the Xavier institute between the school's founder and her great-grandmother.

"Well Cologne, what do you think?" Charles asked as he placed his hand on Xan Pu's shoulder. "Do you think that this young girl needs to be forced to be with someone who was willing and able to kill her without a moment's hesitation? Are your traditions that set in stone?"

"Professor Xavier...Charles...I will have to consult the ancient scrolls on this, but from what I have been able to see, and from the testimony given as to what happened afterward...I'm inclined to consider that while Xan Pu challenged this Oroku Saki and fought as a true warrior, this Shredder is too dangerous to add to the clan." Cologne smiled as she held her heir's hand. "He is not considered by myself to be a fit warrior, male, or consort for anyone as he is at heart a cold-blooded murderer."

"Great-grandmother...Thank you so so much!" in her excitement, the young warrior threw her arms around her family member and hugged her not even caring that she switched to her native touge.

"I think you owe someone else a thank you child." Cologne said. "And in English please."

"Thank you Professor Xavier...Xan Pu no know how to thank you for your kindness." The choking sobs of this young lady would break anyone's heart to joy, for the sheer relief was awe inspiring.

"It is a pleasure to help my dear." Charles said as he let the girl stand up. "You have been a wonderful guest and are welcome to stay here as long as you need to recover. I hope that your great-grandmother doesn't mind me offering her room and board for a time period so that she and those that joined her can recover from their trip."

"I would be honored to be welcomed here for some time Professor. Provided that while we are here my heir is willing to not only be treated for what she had to go through, but be willing to train harder to rematch this Shredder and prove that she is his better."

"I shall try great-grandmother." Xan Pu smiled, feeling great joy at not having to marry the truly evil man who nearly killed her.

"Good, now my child I shall have to go over every detail of our ancient laws to see if my statement has any validity, but for now I wouldn't worry about having to marry such a male ever. Our villiage does not need to add obviously sociopath genes into our mix."

"I'm very glad you see it that way Cologne, but I am more hopeful that Xan never encounters Oroku Saki again." Professor advised in a very stern manner.

"That, actually we both can agree upon." Cologne agreed. "I shall inform my fellow Amazons of the details of what has happened, and shall try my best to see if anything like this has ever happened in the entire history of the tribe."

"Thank you elder. Now if you'll please excuse me I must talk with an associate of mine and see how Ranokami is doing with his own recovery. I shall be around if you need me for anything though."

Professor Xavier smiled as he rolled his wheelchair out of the room with a smile on his face.

This great news was all that Xan Pu needed to instantly perk up again. Cologne saw how happy her heir was and decided that no amount of tradition was worth loosing that happiness, ever.

To be continued.

Author's notes: Sorry it took so long to update this, just have been very occupied. I hope to update it again in the relatively near future.


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